Numerus Novem
by b9 iNe
Summary: Ienzo always hated the number six. It's the number he confines himself to in his head. It's the number he could never count past in grade school. And it's the number he is on a list of prophesized murder victims. Go figure.
1. Chapter I

**Author's Note: Yay, first story! Ahem, so, not much to say here except I hope you like.**

**Disclaimer: Didn't you know I owned Kingdom Hearts? …Ok, not really, but I wish I did, (joins other countless fangirls imagining owning the rights to all the KH characters).**

Numerus Novem

The sun shone drearily behind a smothering blanket of gray clouds, sending the peaceful upper-class suburban street into a dismal light. Trees covered in crimson and golden hued leaves swayed sporadically in the periodic breeze, which filled the air with an occasional hissing sound. A sickeningly yellow school bus drove down the road along its newly acquainted route, half-filled with students; some bouncing in excitement, others jittery from nervousness. It stopped along the side of the road with a whooshing sound of brakes to pick up the lone, dark-haired boy standing beneath the sign labeled 'school bus stop'.

_1…2…3…4…5…6_

With a calming sigh, the boy stepped onto the bus. He surveyed his surroundings wearily, inhaling the stench of sweaty bodies. Someone had attempted to disguise the odor with cheap air freshener, something they only did on the first day of school. The bus itself was nearly empty, thankfully, as this route was not a common one. The few students that were there were sitting together in tight cliques, and not one bothered to look up from their conversations to see the new passenger. He walked down the aisle, shifting his backpack from his back to his shoulder. He was so absorbed in avoiding everyone's eyes that he didn't see the person he had just unconsciously sat next to.

_1…2…3…4…5…6_

"You want to sit there?" a voice said to his left. He looked over into a pair of wide, sea-green eyes gazing innocently into his own, bringing a strange, numbing feeling in his chest.

_1…2…3…4…5…6_

His silence allowed the other boy to continue. "What grade are you in? You're probably in my class, aren't you? You must be, 'cause I don't think anyone other than sixth graders take this bus…but you look kind of small to be in the sixth grade. Hey, did you skip a grade?" He said all this in nearly one breath, his rather high voice spurting it all out at a rapid speed. His huge grin never left his cutely attractive face, the dimples and messy brown hair only completing the perfect picture of a child's innocent happiness.

"Yes," he said wearily, the exact opposite image and tone of the bliss that was just described.

"You skipped a grade?" He looked rather impressed. "Wow, that's cool. I have a cousin who skipped a grade, but she's a lot older than me. How old are you?"

"Nine."

"Really? I'm ten, but I'll be eleven next month."

The bus stopped with the annoyingly familiar squeak of brakes, and everyone stood up to file out the door.

"I can't wait until lunch time! Food always tastes better on the first day," he babbled on happily, either to oblivious or uncaring to the fact that his newfound companion didn't appear, (and was desperately trying not to), to be paying much attention to him.

_1…2…3…4…5…6_

They both stood up from their seats to leave, making it clear that the talkative one was, indeed, a lot taller than the other. They stepped off onto the pavement. The smaller of the two looked up at the school with a deadpan expression, though, inside, his mind was reeling.

_1…2…3…_

"Can you believe we're in Middle School? I remember when I started Kindergarten… though, I guess anyone would remember the day they were sent to the hospital because they ate too much paste…" He trailed off, his face reddening slightly when the other gave him a quizzical look. "Hey, they told me it was cake icing…a limitless supply of cake icing! How was I supposed to know the difference?" With this he gave little shake of his head, his cheeks still blushing.

_…4…5…6_

They walked through the front doors and into the crowded hallway. The noise was nearly deafening, but that didn't stop him from carrying on his one-sided conversation. It didn't seem like _anything_ would make him stop talking.

"Did you just move here? I've never seen you before."

"I was home-schooled," the other replied simply, his mind focused on counting, on staying within the routine, the pattern; the boundaries in his head. He didn't seem to be having much trouble carrying on a conversation with himself, after all.

"So this is your first day of, like, _school_, school? Like your first day of…_real_ school?" He seemed both intrigued and amazed by this fact.

They both turned left into a slightly less-crowded hallway and stood beside the row of lockers.

"I suppose you could say that."

"_Awe-_some! So, you don't know anyone else your age? I'm, like, your first friend?"

His snippy retort was caught in his throat as he looked up, annoyed, into the other's hopeful face. Well, _was_ he his first friend? Now that he had stopped to think about it, he didn't really know anyone else his own age. Most everyone he knew was older than him, and he probably wouldn't consider any of them 'friends'.

The silence, (well, not _complete_ silence, they were still in a school hallway, after all), that stretched between the two as he struggled to answer the other's casual question was probably the longest that had occurred so far, though it was still rather brief.

His icy voice answered with the first thing that came to mind.

"Well, you're the only one I know that's close to my age, but I wouldn't call you my _friend_, per say. More like a _casual_ _acquaintance_."

The other's friendly smile slipped off his face. "Oh," his voice sounded disappointed, but he recovered from it quickly, his huge smile re-appearing on his face after a brief moment. "But we'll _become_ friends, I can tell. I can tell that we're gonna be really great friends!"

That was not the response he was expecting, and his face lost its usual stoic façade to show his surprise. Beaming, the older one beckoned with his hand and started walking towards their first class. "Come on, we don't want to be late."

As they were walking, he asked, "What's your name?" He laughed suddenly, more serious than before, but still almost comically genial. "That was probably the first thing I should have asked you, wasn't it? I can't believe we don't even know each other's names yet!" He shrugged and said, "I'm Myde."

"Ienzo," the other replied, reluctantly, at last.

_1…2…3…4…5…6_

11 

RENOUNED RESEARCHER FOUND DEAD IN HIS OFFICE

Suspected Murder has Police Baffled

Ienzo stared at the bold headline blankly. It was amazing, really, how much publicity the murder of a rather strange, though, admittedly, brilliant scientist could cause. It was front-page news in the small town of Kingdom, and it seemed that, in one day alone, over ten publicities had already written up quite a few different approaches to the case, all from suicide, to a bad experiment. But the facts remained the same, and Ienzo let his eyes skim down the article again, trying to make sense of what he saw.

Ansem the Wise, a renowned and respectable old scientist went missing six years previously without a trace. Upon his leave, his only recently acquired apprentice, Xehanort, took his place as town scientist and all-around know-it-all. Xehanort was young and generally well-liked, and, over time, he adopted the name 'Ansem', though no one really knew if this was in affection or disrespect for his former teacher. He lived alone in the old laboratory, conducting, the town could only conclude, experiments. And all was well for the next eight years…

…Until Xehanort, or Ansem, was found dead in his lab one morning by a supplier. The doors were locked from the inside. His body showed no trace of harm besides a few long, thin scratches on his chest. He wasn't poisoned or hung. According to the medical reports, in fact, Xehanort should still be alive. But he wasn't, and that left everyone involved in a flurry of confusion.

_1…2…3…4…5…6_

"Zo! You're reading that article _again_?! What's so interesting about some old scientist dying, anyway?" Ienzo looked up to see Myde peering at him from across the table. His eyes narrowed.

"Ienzo. My name is _Ienzo_. How many times do I have to tell you to call me by my _name_, Myde?" Ienzo muttered insipidly for what must have been the hundredth time. Myde had a strong affection for nicknames. Ienzo did not.

"Oy, give it a rest,_ Zo_. He's obviously never going to catch on. Might as well save your breath for something more important," Lea said in his familiar cocky drawl as he set down his lunch tray and took a seat beside Myde at their otherwise-empty lunch table. He smoothed back his disheveled red hair and winked at Myde with his flashy green eyes.

Ienzo gave him an icy look, but remained silent. He'd put up with Lea for Myde's sake, but never would they be friends of any sort.

Lea and Myde, on the other hand, had been friends since Kindergarten, after Lea had been forced by the teacher to apologize to Myde for telling him that the paste was actually cake icing. (Yes, apparently it had been Lea who had told Myde that), and Myde, in typical Myde fashion, had forgiven him instantly and asked if he would like to play Heartless and Nobodies. They'd been friends ever since.

"Hey, Lea, did you hear about Ansem's- I mean Xehanort's- murder? They say the police don't know how it happened," Myde said, obviously glad to have something of such importance to say.

"Of course I've heard about it, Myde. Seriously, who _hasn't_ heard? The whole town's talking about it," Lea said languidly as he leaned back in his chair. A tight clique of girls walked by, he gave them a playful wink, and they blushed and giggled as they hurried away. Ienzo rubbed his neck with his clenched fist, his eyes narrowing.

"Hey, Myde," Lea said suddenly after a brief silence. Myde, who had been humming and tapping his fingers on the table, looked up.

"Yeah?"

"I think we should do something more advantageous with our time."

"What?"

"What do you say we skip today?"

Ienzo huffed and asked with venom, "And how, tell me, is _that_ advantageous?"

"Aww…I don't know what you mean, _Zo_," (Ienzo clenched his jaw), "I mean, skipping school is _extremely_ advantageous. To us, that is." Lea laughed, obviously pleased by his own cleverness, (Ienzo would have to have him look up the word, 'advantageous' sometime, because he obviously had no idea what it meant).

Myde smiled at Lea sadly. "Sorry, but next class for me is chemistry, and Mr. Even said that if I'm late one more time he'd rip my heart out, then put it in the freezer for future experiments," Myde's eyes widened and his mouth frowned in disgust. "Crazy old man…" he muttered dismally, taking a large swallow out of his water bottle.

"Alright, alright, I get it. Maybe next time." And with that, Lea started vigorously shoveling food into his mouth. Ienzo looked at him with disgust, and he picked feebly at the unidentifiable food on his own tray.

"Hey," Myde said to Ienzo as they walked to their next classes. "You're coming over again tonight, right?"

"It's Friday, isn't it?" Ienzo said.

"Yeah, I was just making sure. Mom's making a chocolate cake for dessert tonight, and she told me to remind you."

"Yes, I remember," Ienzo said softly.

Myde hadn't heard though, as he had walked off hurriedly to his next class. Similarly, Lea had wandered off after some curvy blonde girl whose name Ienzo thought was Arlene, (or something like that).

_1…2…3…4…5…6_

The hallway was emptying fast, and Ienzo looked down at his silver Rolex watch. He still had a quarter hour until his next A.P. class, and, deciding to get some more studying in, made his way towards the library.

_Something almost sickeningly sweet, slightly flowery…_

He stopped suddenly.

_Something fresh and tropical, like a clear seaside day._

The scent in the air had changed.

_…and something that smelt almost like…_

"…about it, Sora. They're _going _to -" a clear female voice started.

_…darkness._

"I know, I know," another voice cut in. "But y'know how it is, it's already_ done_. It's too late."

Ienzo ducked into the shadow of the library's large doorway swiftly and without a sound. It was instinctive, almost as if he had spent his whole life listening at keyholes…

_1…2…3…4…5…6_

"Aww…don't say that. We still have time, don't we? According to that crackpot, you're last on the list. That's, what, twelve away?" another voice interjected idly, detectably trying to sound as if this were only a minor concern of his. Ienzo wasn't fooled. "Next on the list are, what, the village idiot and…"

Three teenagers came into view walking deliberately around the corner. They were an unusual group, all in almost complete contrast to each other in both looks and demeanor. Ienzo recognized the tallest one immediately. Pale skin, shaggy silver hair, and walking with an obvious confidence in himself: Riku, the most popular smartass in the whole damn school, (in addition, the total epitome of cool).

"Are you sure this is the right way?" the speaker, a slender girl with auburn hair and sparkling blue eyes: Kairi, the sweet overachiever who everyone knew and, (most), liked.

"Of course I'm sure," this time, a lightly built teenage boy with messy chocolate colored hair and tan skin: Sora, a happy-go-lucky, naïve underclassman, (Ienzo remembered hearing Myde muttering complaints about him for cutting in line at the cafeteria and taking the last piece of pineapple cake).

_1…2…3…4…5…6_

Suddenly, the door opened behind Ienzo with a click, catching the trio's attention immediately, and causing Ienzo to back away promptly into the lighted hall.

"Oh, hello there," said the kind-natured librarian, Belle, who was laden with history books and with a slightly surprised look at seeing the crowd of teenagers outside the library door.

Ienzo, thinking fast, said in his usual eloquent tenor, "Thank you for your suggestions, Miss Belle. I will most definitely read these," he held out his arms, as if to pretend that he was studiously in the library with Belle the whole time, and she set the small pile of books into them out of sheer impulse, still looking startled.

And with that Ienzo turned on his heel and walked lithely in the opposite direction, leaving Belle looking puzzled, and, effectively, with his classmates unsuspicious.

_222_

Dilan watched dully as Braig and the bartender talked animatedly about hunting and shooting things that were most certainly illegal to shoot, like big, hairy monsters and fifteen-year-old boys. He twirled the plastic fork in his hand and gazed bleakly around the shabby, rustic bar, his abhorrence towards Braig growing every second for dragging him away from the comfort of his home where he could be sitting in front of the air conditioner on full-blast and talking endlessly to people on the phone. The bar, (called Beast's Castle, ironically enough), was nearly empty, which was no surprise seeing as the bartender, Gaston, alone could empty a room with his egotistical ramblings and random outbursts into songs about himself. Honestly…

Dilan snorted scathingly.

"Somethin' wrong?" Braig asked, as if just noticing his friend's presence.

"…get 20 to 50 calls a day from the lovely women who find my handsome mug attractive. Well, every woman I meet finds my face attractive, of course, so it's actually every woman I find attractive enough to give my number to, you know…"

Remembering the warning the policeman had given him on a previous similar occasion, Dilan resisted the urge to shove his plastic fork into Gaston's throat.

Braig, recognizing the 'stabbity' look in his friend's eyes, said quickly, "See ya later, bud. Me 'n Dilan better get outta here."

Dilan sighed thankfully and rushed out the door into the crisp night.

**End Note: Love it? Hate it? I want to know, (yes, even you flamers. Flames help me stay warm in my arctic rooooom). So please review.**

**Next chapter is almost done.**

**b9 iNe**


	2. Chapter II

**Author's Notes: The second chapter already? Yes, I'm amazed at myself, too. **

**-Thank you so much for the reviews. They made me super happy and motivated me to get this chapter done quickly. **

**-Enjoy.**

**-Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own. **

**Chapter II**

The rest of Ienzo's day went by quickly, his mind mulling over the conversation he had overheard, replaying every last syllable again and again, until that's all he could hear.

Ienzo knew he wasn't a paranoid person. Ever. He never jumped to conclusions; he never got ahead of himself. It couldn't be what he was thinking, that was ridiculous; Sora and Kairi were two of the nicest people at school, and Riku…Riku wouldn't do that.

_And it's not like I actually_ heard_ them talking about that specifically,_ Ienzo told himself realistically, _for all I know, they could have been talking about cheating on a test._

"Hey, did I overhear you saying that she's making chocolate cake?" Lea said, interrupting Ienzo's train of thought.

Myde smiled and said, "Yep, and she said that you'd better come, because there isn't enough room in the fridge for leftovers."

They were walking through the school parking lot after school, towards Myde's dingy powder blue Chevy truck. He'd gotten it for his sixteenth birthday, and, despite its shabby appearance, it worked well and Myde always seemed to beam whenever he saw it.

Myde hopped into the driver's seat, and Lea slid into the passenger's. This left Ienzo with the cramped and dirty backseat, where Myde usually threw whatever junk he had with him, and he slid into it grudgingly, shooting Lea a scathing look.

"Aww…come on, Zo, I _always_ sit here on the way home from school. Besides, you're so much smaller than me. I prob'ly wouldn't even fit back there," Lea chided in response to Ienzo's look. "Why aren't you taking the bus home today again?"

"My Mom works late," Ienzo said in a low voice. "She can't take me over until after 9 tonight."He hated being too young for a driver's license.

And he really hated the superior smirk Lea was giving him.

But the honking of the car's horn stopped their latest argument from even starting.

"What's going on?" Myde asked to the car in general.

For, indeed, the street was now packed with police cars, news crews, and a large crowd of general onlookers. The sudden chaos wasn't especially strange, as the neighborhood where Lea and Myde lived wasn't a particularly nice part of town and was often the site of bar brawls or small robberies, but for the crime to have drawn this much attention _was_ rather odd.

Without a word, they all stepped out of the car to get a closer look.

"What happened?" Lea asked a tall, dark-haired man.

"A murder," the man said and Ienzo felt a shiver go down his spine. The man seemed oddly thrilled for talking about such a gruesome subject. "Two murders, actually. I found the bodies when I went to take out the garbage this morning. Apparently, they'd been dead for hours."

"Who were they? Do you know?" asked Myde, his eyes growing wide in panic. His dad worked nearby, after all…

The man looked around dramatically, obviously enjoying the intensity in which they were listening to him, then leaned in and said in a loud whisper, "I don't think I'm really supposed to talk about it…"

Myde gave him a look that could only be described as 'puppy dog'. "Please?"

The man shrugged. "It's strange, really. They were sitting in my bar just last night. I was having a conversation with them and everything," for the first time, he looked troubled. "I think they said there names were Braig and Dilan."

2-3-2

"Are you all okay?" Myde's mom asked worriedly the second they walked in the front door. "There was terrible traffic. The news just said something about a murder."

"Yeah, we've heard," Myde said, giving his mom a hug. "We're fine. And we already heard all the details. Some local bartender, Gaston, I think, told us about it."

"Hey, I heard it was requested I come over," Lea said, giving her a wave.

She chuckled jovially, and it was easy to see where Myde got his looks and demeanor. "Yes, of course, Lea, you're always welcome. You too, Ienzo."

Myde slid his backpack off his shoulder and dropped it in a heap by the door. Lea and Ienzo copied him.

"Oh, that's right, I nearly forgot," she said abruptly. "Ienzo, you're mom called just a minute ago. She seemed a bit… distraught. You'd better call her back."

Ienzo internally cursed. It was never pleasant for anyone when his mom contacted him while at her job. She was really into the whole 'don't take your home to work' thing, which was primarily the reason Ienzo didn't own a cell phone. She thought he should live by her example.

Lea and Myde wandered off into the family room while Myde's mom handed him the phone.

He dialed the numbers to her private line resentfully.

"Hello, Bank of Agrabah. This is me speaking," said the woman on the other line brightly. He always thought she sounded full of herself whenever she answered her work phone.

"Mom, I was told you wished to speak with me," Ienzo said stiffly.

"Ienzo? Are you at your friend's house yet?" her voice had changed immediately. It no longer sounded cheery, it sounded icy.

"Yes." Obviously.

"Good. Reno's on his way." She paused. "With your medication," she added in response to Ienzo's silence.

Ienzo, taken aback, said, "What? Why?"

"You," she responded, sounding inauspiciously reproachful, "didn't take your meds this morning. And you know what Dr. Rinoa said about consistency."

"I-"

"He'll be there soon." She hung up.

Ienzo stared at the phone, the feeling of dread growing in his stomach. Reno was Lea's older brother, and they lived alone, with no parents, about five minutes away from Myde. (Ienzo didn't know what had happened to their parents; he'd never asked.) He also happened to work at the same bank as Ienzo's mother as a security guard, (something that Lea always brought up whenever Ienzo felt particularly irritated at him). Reno, (who looked and acted a lot like Lea, unfortunately), wasn't the type of person you could ask favors of, but, occasionally, he did things for Ienzo's mother, probably because she owned that particular branch.

Ienzo hung up the phone and walked numbly into the living room, where Lea and Myde were in the midst of playing _Sitar Hero III_ on Myde's beaten up X-box 360.

"Hey, you wanna play?" Myde said whilst turning to him.

The song ended and Lea let out an enthusiastic "Yeah! In your _face_!"

Myde turned back to the TV and frowned. "I was _distracted_!"

"Pssh…some sitar player _you_ are. I totally creamed you," Lea continued boastfully.

"Yeah? Well, I'd like to see you play a _real_ sitar. It's _way _harder…"

Ienzo sat on the couch, tuning out their lighthearted argument.

He'd never told anyone about Dr. Rinoa, his psychiatrist. He'd never told anyone that he had to take a multitude of medications a day, just to get through school. And now Lea's brother knew, and was going to knock on the door any minute, and they were all going to find out.

_1…2…3…4…5…6_

It wasn't that bad, really. It's not like Ienzo had any particular reason to hide these facts from his friends. It was just…

The doorbell rang.

_Something sharp and strong; the smell of hard liquor… _

"Oh, hello, Reno," Myde's mother said from the other room with a laugh. "Are you coming to dinner, too?"

Another laugh joined hers, and Ienzo suppressed a scowl. Honestly, one Lea was enough…

"Nah, I shouldn't, but thanks anyway," Reno said as he entered the living room. "I'm just here to make a delivery…" Ienzo stood up to face Reno, feeling everyone's eyes on him.

"_Thank you_," Ienzo said venomously, avoiding all eyes. He held out his hand and Reno dropped the pills into them with a flourish.

He swallowed them dry as quickly as he could.

"What-?" Myde started.

"You are _most_ welcome," Reno said with that same superior smirk of Lea's. Ienzo's eyes narrowed infinitesimally.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay for dinner, Reno?" Myde's mom interjected, probably sensing the tension. "I made cake."

Reno looked at Lea, who shrugged and said with a scoff, "Since when have _you_ asked _me_ permission."

"Who, me?" Reno said innocently, his blue eyes widening. "Why, you know how considerate I am, little bro. Honestly, I feel rather hurt that you think so low of me."

"Oh, just shut the hell up," Lea demanded as he turned back to the TV to continue playing.

Reno and Myde's mother walked off into the kitchen and Ienzo sat down on the couch slowly, trying not to attract notice.

"Ienzo?" He looked up. It was Myde, looking wary. "Do you wanna see my new sitar?"

He hesitated. "Alright."

Myde smiled and started walking into the hallway. Ienzo looked over at Lea, who was enthralled in the game, then followed.

Myde's room hadn't changed. The walls were still aqua, and clothes and schoolbooks littered the floor, almost like a permanent area rug. Posters of his favorite bands were on the wall, the bed and dresser were mismatched, and a small TV was precariously perched on the desk.

Myde turned on the TV, then went to the closet and pulled out a big, blue, three-stringed, guitar-like instrument. He showed it to Ienzo proudly.

"Isn't she pretty?" he said, while lovingly stroking its neck.

Ienzo paused, and then said, "Yes," simply. He'd never understood Myde's music obsession.

"I've been saving for _forever_. It's worth it though."

"I'm sure it is."

Myde looked up and stared at Ienzo, as if trying to gather the courage to ask something. Ienzo knew that look. He knew the real reason Myde had wanted them to be alone. That was why they were friends.

And Myde was the only one he would ever save from asking any uncomfortable question. He usually let everyone else endure in silence.

"I have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder."

Myde looked taken aback. "Wha-?"

"It's not that bad, really. I've had it for a long time, ever since I was six." How ironic _that _was. "It mostly just makes me panic whenever I can't do the things in my routine. And I count. In my head, that is. I always count to six; ever past. It took me forever to learn to count at all, because I'd start freaking out whenever my mom would make me try. I have to take medication to take the edge off it, so I can function normally." He knew he was rambling. But all at once, he couldn't stop.

"That's why I had to be home schooled for so long-"

"Hey, hey," Myde said softly, "calm down, alright?"

Ienzo tried to slow down his heart, for it had started beating furiously, as if to match his racing words.

After a moment of silence, Myde asked, still gently, "Why didn't you tell us? We could have helped you, maybe..."

Ienzo started feeling ridiculous for being so weak. Trying to muster up whatever dignity he had left, he scoffed and said coldly, "Why would I tell you?" His voice broke on the last syllable, betraying him.

"Because, we're your friends," Myde said, still patient.

And this time, Ienzo couldn't deny it.

444

Even hated kids. They were self-pitying, -gratifying, -satisfied, and they were really loud. Even especially hated high-school kids, since, well, that's who he spent most of his time trying to get to cooperate.

He marked the quiz he was grading, (ouch, another C-, Arlene?), and went to the next one in the stack. Myde's. Now _there_ was a kid who had difficulty memorizing things, (and it was so fun to threaten him!). At least his heart was in it, though.

The thing that irritated Even the most, however, was that some of the teachers, like Coach Strife, for example, seemed to get amused, (yes, amused!), whenever Even mentioned his complaints about the students. Honestly, weren't they seeing the same thing he was?

Done with Myde's. He took the next on the stack. Ienzo's. Ahh, what an intelligent and polite young person he was! It was definitely no trouble at all teaching him, in fact, it didn't always seem like Even was the teacher whenever Ienzo was there, more like it was the other way around.

And of course, 100. No surprise there.

The next on the stack was…Riku's. Almost done…

_Crash._

**End Notes: Ohhh…cliff hanger! …sorta. Anyway. If you liked it: Review (c'mon people, I see that '93 hits'). If you didn't like it: still review. **

**(And I forgot to mention in the first one that I'm sorry for any punctuation mistakes. Oops.)**

**Happy (late) New Year!**


	3. Chapter III

**Author's Note: sigh I've never much to say on these things. I hope you enjoy. **

**Thanks so much for the awesome reviews. Not only do they make my week, but they help get chapters out faster.**

**Disclaimer: property of Disney, Square, etc. (which doesn't include me, sadly)**

Chapter III

When Ienzo got home that day, he felt, well, he wasn't really sure what he felt. But he was pretty sure that it was a feeling that caused people to do really stupid things. _Why_ hadn't his mom waited, what, two hours to give him his meds? Was it really _that_ big of a deal? Sure, it _was _important for consistency; to take it every day, and taking it at the same time was slightly useful, but it's not like she was actually concerned about him, anyway. Well, he took that back, she _was_ concerned about him; about what he would do to her social image if he had a meltdown at school, that is.

If it had simply been the fact that his mom liked to embarrass him, as basically every teenager thought, he would have been more tolerable with it. But that wasn't the case. He _knew_ that wasn't the case.

And Lea hadn't left him alone since the second he had entered the living room.

"What was that all about?" he had asked all throughout dinner. Thankfully, it didn't appear as if Reno knew exactly _what _he had given him, otherwise he would have most likely told Lea just to shut him up.

"Welcome home, Ienzo." He looked up from his thoughts. The housekeeper, Merryweather, had been the one greeting him. The only one, just as it had been every day before it.

Today, he let himself play with the idea that his parents worked at an office or a law firm, and they'd been at home for a few hours by now, waiting for him, possibly calling to remind him of his curfew. Today, he ignored the limits of wishing that he had set for himself when he was little, and he imagined, just for an instant, that it was his mother or father that had greeted him at the door.

But then he had to face the facts. Whatever his parents would ever say, this place still didn't feel like home. And regardless of how much they pretended to care or tried to interfere with his life, in any tedious manner that defied logic, to make them feel like they were good parents and they were a happy household, he'd never felt less like part of a family in his life.

4-4-4

"_Did you hear?" _

The next Monday was hot and sunny, unique for September days, in general, but the drought this year had been happening since October, so it was nothing new to the citizens of Kingdom.

"_No way! In his classroom?!"_

Ienzo hated days like this; the bright sun and vivid colors hurt his eyes.

"_It's just a rumor, that's impossible!"_

"What's everyone talking about?"

Ienzo looked up at Myde. He'd been purposefully tuning out the annoying buzz of gossip himself, but now he paused to listen to it.

"Hey." Lea's voice could be picked out and heard clearly, even the array of anxious voices. He could be seen easily, too, with his bright red hair, as he walked over to them, people seeming to part in front of him.

"Mr. Even died of a heart attack," Lea supplied without even waiting for Myde to repeat the question.

"Wait, _what?_" Lea looked at Ienzo in slight surprise. He wasn't usually one to react strongly, especially not to the latest talk.

"He died in the hospital, but the attack initially started in his classroom after school on Friday." Lea leaned in closer, and Ienzo was immediately reminded of Gaston, the barman who had told them about the murders of Braig and Dilan. Was all this…?

"Some student came into his classroom to ask a question about their test, and, apparently, they called an ambulance right away when they saw what happened." Lea smiled here. "There's a rumor going around that somebody got a crazy good score on the test, and he was so shocked, his heart just couldn't handle it."

"Which student was it?" Ienzo asked intensely, ignoring the last part.

Lea paused. "I heard that it was that girl, Kairi, but that might just be a rumor. I do know that she was there after school that day, though. Tidus told me."

A brief silence stretched between the three of them.

"Since when have you been such a gossip?" Ienzo asked mockingly, recovering first.

Lea smiled audaciously and opened his mouth to retort.

Myde cut quickly, "Are they having an assembly or something?"

Lea turned back to Myde. "Yeah, second period. In the auditorium. They're setting up right now."

The first bell rang at that moment, and the mingling halls were brought back to reality as they hurried to their first classes. As they split up, Lea and Myde taking a right and Ienzo a left, he thought he heard Lea wonder aloud if Mr. Even had happened to correct his test before he died.

4-4-4

The assembly was long and tedious, as most assemblies can be expected to be, and many of the students reported later that they thought it suited their deceased teacher perfectly. Ienzo thought otherwise.

Even had been a very intelligent man, and Ienzo had felt a certain comradeship towards him that was unusual for a student/teacher relationship. He realized in the middle of the assembly, that the sinking feeling in his chest was sadness. He was sad that he had died.

And confusion was growing in his mind as Principal Maleficent continued to drone on and on. Kairi was the last one seen going into the building, but she was also, apparently, the one who called the ambulance. Why would she do that if…? And then, of course, there is the obvious fact that heart attacks were natural courses of nature and couldn't be induced. But, it was all so strange…something in Ienzo was unable to shrug all these murders off as merely a coincidence.

He felt that, morally, he should be doing something, perhaps something noble and brave, like confronting Kairi or Riku, but, than again, at the same time he didn't feel the urge too. Maybe it was because Ienzo had basically lived off his manners, rather than his morals. He just wasn't the saving people type.

"You look kind of dazed…are you okay?" Myde asked in a hushed, sympathetic voice. He obviously thought that Ienzo was reacting from the tragedy. "He was a…an interesting person, huh?" He sighed dismally.

"Not to sound insensitive or all that," Lea said, insensitivity dripping through his every word. Ienzo already knew what he was going to say; he knew what Lea had thought of Even. "But, y'know, he wasn't all that great of a teacher, really. I hope we get a hot teacher to replace him. Yeah, one just outta college or som'thin…" He trailed off, a happy look gleaming in his eyes.

It turns out, though, that Ienzo never needed to decide on what to do, because two days later, someone was waiting for him when he entered the library after school.

"Listen," Riku said quietly, menace gleaming in his usually nonchalant green eyes. Kairi was behind him, looking out of place and uneasy. He gestured towards the back door with his hand, and Ienzo followed him outside, his posture not betraying his weariness.

"I _know _you overheard us." The campus was deserted except for the three of them. School was out for the day, and there were no sports practices. He had no place to hide.

He thought fast. "Overheard you talking about what?"

Riku looked taken aback, then his expression changed to annoyed. "You know what I'm talking about."

"Do I?" he asked vaguely.

Riku glared.

"So, what are you going to do about it?" he was just buying time; he knew, now especially, what his consequences might be. What moral compensations did they have? How did they justify it?

Then, the answer came to it in a flash of words that he didn't recognize, yet somehow did.

"_You were never meant to exist."_

"You weren't supposed to exist," Riku muttered quietly to himself, and Ienzo knew he wasn't meant to hear it.

And suddenly, Ienzo knew what to do. It wouldn't solve the long-lasting problem, of course, but it would help his current situation. He changed his demeanor and speech immediately to something more relaxed and non-threatening.

"Yeah, alright, you've got me." Riku looked calculatingly at his face and Kairi looked at him, surprised. "I did hear you guys and Sora talking about cheating on the test. But I didn't tell anyone, so…" he trailed off.

He tried to slip past Riku, but he had shot out an arm instinctively. Ienzo constructed his face into a slightly confused look. "What's the problem? Are you okay?"

For, indeed, Riku looked worn, his eyes were suddenly tired and bulging, his face as white as his hair. "Oh, uh, yeah. Sorry…about…misunderstood…"

"Oh," Ienzo added pushing his luck as he slid past Riku. He looked over at Kairi now. "Hey, I was wondering…"

She looked up.

"My friend, you know, Myde? Well, he wants to get on the school paper, but he has to submit an article to them first, and then they decide if he's good enough. Sort of like a try out, you know?" She nodded, and he could tell she was relaxing slightly. But her face was still weary. Ienzo looked into her dark blue eyes intently, concentrating hard.

"So, I said I'd help him get an idea for a story. It has to be something really good." Ienzo smiled sheepishly. "I think I heard you or Riku mention to Sora about some old insane guy or something like that. I've been hearing tones of rumors lately about something that sounds similar, and I was wondering if you could give me any information." Ienzo paused for a dramatic effect, then he widened his eyes in a perfect image of light disappointment. "But you don't have too, of course…"

"You're talking about Master Yen Sid, I think," Kairi said after some thought, her voice sounding a little more monotone than usual. Her eyes were still locked with Ienzo's.

Ienzo smiled. "Where does he live?"

Kairi wrote something down than handed the slip of paper to him.

Ienzo clutched it victoriously.

"Thanks," he said with a characteristic smirk.

He pushed past Riku and into the library.

He had plans now, most definitely; though, his morals probably weren't exactly what had pressed him to act, finally.

…5.o.5.o.5…

"No, officer, I didn't hear any noise at all when I entered the building. I was just there on a delivery," Elaeus said for what felt like the hundredth time. He was finding it increasingly difficult to hide his impatience as different officers kept showing up on his doorstep daily and asking similar questions. Didn't any of them read the police reports?

They were sitting in his cramped living room, the heat wasn't working, and his potatoes were getting cold. Needless to say, Elaeus was not to pleased.

"Not to seem rude, but are you nearly finished questioning? I'm afraid you interrupted my dinner."

Officer Leonhart frowned, (though, that wasn't too different from his usual expression, so one had to be extremely observant to notice), but his partner, Officer Kisaragi, gave him a playful shove and said, "Sorry 'bout that. I _told _Squall that normal people eat dinner at this time, but, of course, it's not like he cares if it's convenient-"

"Enough, Kisaragi," the officer interjected. "And no," he said as he turned back to Elaeus, "I was wondering, what, exactly, you were delivering to Mr. Xehanort on that particular day?"

"I was transporting approximately an ounce of chemicals that he had ordered from me," he said in his smooth baritone, masking his exasperation. "I knocked, but no one answered, so I entered his lab and discovered him dead on the floor."

They sat in silence for a moment, and Elaeus hoped that it was the last time he would have to tell the same story to a pair of irritating police officers.

"Thank you for your patience," Officer Leonhart said to him finally. It sounded as if he had said that line many times before.

"Thank you for your _extreme_ patience," Officer Kisaragi added with a smile and a giggle.

They walked to the front door and opened it. Officer Leonhart stopped abruptly, and Officer Kisaragi promptly ran into him.

"Oops! Sor-"

"What the _hell_ is that?"

**End note: Getting sick of cliffhangers yet? Well, that's too bad, because I'm not, (whatever happened to 'the reader is always right'?).**

**Sorry, didn't proof it that well, so it may have a tone of mistakes. I hope you weren't personally offended by my humanness.**

_**You! Yes, you! You know you want to review, just press that periwinkle button…it'll only take you, what, less than a minute? And how long did it take for me to write this**__**story?**__ : _

_How about a 'please'? _

_b9 iNe_


	4. Chapter IV

**Author's Note: Yay! It's done. Finally. Ugh, this took me forever. I really hate writer's block. It's so time-consuming. **

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy. And thanks so much to everyone that reviewed. You literally made this come out **_**so**_** much faster (is inspired). I love you guys.**

**Disclaimer: This is a complete waste of space.**

Chapter IV

For this instance, it's almost certainly a good thing Lea lives with his brother.

"What did you _do_ to your face?"

"Whaddayou mean? Doesn't it look _sexy_?"

"Not re-"

"Wow, Lea. Those are some awesome tattoos!"

Lea shot Arlene a triumphant look. "See? Myde likes them."

Arlene scoffed. "And we all know how _Myde's_ fashion sense is. Or is it suddenly attractive to run over your hair with a lawn mower?"

Myde glared. _"_Hey! What's that-?!"

"Aww…Arlene. That wasn't very nice," Lea chided mockingly.

"True, though."

Ienzo listened to Arlene and Lea banter back and forth, glad that Lea had someone else to argue with for once.It got mind-numbing arguing pointlessly with an egotistical, arrogant-

"Are you going to the Halloween party?"

"Nope. I prefer to stay home alone on Halloween. Just me and my lonesome self…"

"Really?"

"Yeah, just like I stay home on New Year's Eve and Boxing Day and St. Patrick's Day…"

"Wait…you don't stay home for…"

"…"

"…Myde, you're really an idiot sometimes."

-9-9-9-

"Did you guys know chocobos were recently added to the endangered species list?" Ms. Tifa asked conversationally after a few minutes of dull oral reading from _Little Chocobos_.

Ms. Tifa, Ienzo's English teacher, was one of the most well-liked teachers at the school, probably because the lecture time usually turned into a current event discussion, much to the delight of the class. Trying to teach the class about the importance of

'shan't' and 'thou', (which was getting more and more difficult as the time wore on, as they _were_ in the age of txt messaging, (Lyk who nded prpr grmmr?)), was not something Ms. Tifa found worth her effort, in the long run.

"Does anyone know why?" she asked the class encouragingly after a blank silence. Wow, what a lively bunch they were in the morning…

"Because…" Hayner, (someone who had repeated this English class enough years to know it was no problem being cheeky), said acerbically from the back of the classroom, "there are people, like Coach Strife, who collect them, then run them, like, to death."

There were a few snorts of laughter, and Ms. Tifa blushed unconsciously. Her crush on the stoic coach was almost as well-known as the coach's strange fascination with giant, chicken-like birds.

"Well…uhh…"

"Does anyone know anything new about the uprising of deaths?" asked a clear, female voice.

It took a moment for Ienzo to realize the voice was coming from the person sitting next to him; Olette, a sophomore taking advanced English. Her clear green eyes were penetrating the front of the classroom, and the room suddenly became silent.

"Uprising…?" someone said questioningly. It was Kairi, and she looked rather alarmed, Ienzo noticed. "What, you think it's some sort of serial killer?"

Olette turned to Kairi, then nodded solemnly. "What else could it be?"

"Coincidence," Fuu said bluntly, (as usual).

"Well, you _do _have to admit how miraculous it is that a town with, what, one recorded murder that happened fifty years ago, suddenly has a reported three during the span of two weeks."

Kairi was looking more and more frantic, but she tried to scoff, a very uncharacteristic thing for her to do. "That's the most ridiculous thing I've heard all week."

The class was silent. They'd never heard Kairi get mad before, especially at Olette, who she usually got along great with.

"That," Olette said with icy assurance, "is amazing, considering the people _you_ hang out with."

Kairi's eyes were slits. "Are you calling my friends-?!"

"Okay, that's probably enough for the day!" Ms. Tifa interjected quickly.

The bell rang, and Kairi immediately stood up from her chair, grabbed her stuff, and stalked out of the room.

"-one chapter in the book by next Wednesday. Got it?" Ms. Tifa called as everyone filed into the hallway.

She cursed under her breath and wondered idly why Ienzo, in particular, was in such a hurry. _Maybe I'll go see if Cloud's busy_, she thought. And so she drifted off into another lovesick daze.

-6-6-6-

Some people might have tried to convince themselves that it was completely unintentional when they suddenly found themselves hearing the details of other's conversation.

Ienzo was not one of those people.

Some people called it eavesdropping. Ienzo called it an _art_.

After all, not everyone could do it like him. Only he could slip through the shadows with such ease, and again he got the strange feeling that it was more than just a graceful step and small stature that made it so second-nature for him.

"Sora," Kairi whispered. "Sora, I'm scared."

"What's wrong?" he asked in an equally quiet, concerned voice.

"People will find out. I _know_ they will. They won't understand, they'll think we're insane!"

"Shh…calm down, Kai."

"It's ridiculous! W-we could…Do you understand what that would mean?!"

The hallways filled at that moment, preventing Ienzo from hearing anything else. It didn't matter, though; he'd already heard more than he needed.

-6-6-6-

One moment, it was there. The next, it wasn't.

"What the _hell_ is that?"

"It's a Dusk," Elaeus said automatically. The officers weren't the only one surprised.

"How-?" Officer Leonhart started asking incredulously.

The thing had sort of warped, human-like features. It had two long arms, two legs, a body, a head, and it stood upright. But that was where the similarities had ended.

Its hips and chest were averagely wide, but its waist was nearly nonexistent. Instead of facial features, a zipper was the only thing on its oddly-shaped head. It waved and jerked, back and forth, back and forth, as if in some macabre dance, and was pale, seeming almost slimy in the light.

"Where'd it go, where'd it go?!" Officer Kisaragi implied impatiently. She was trying to peer around Officer Leonhart without success; being stuck between two rather large, stoic men was not the ideal place for a tiny person with way too much energy.

"The woods," Elaeus supplied in answer.

"Wait." Officer Leonhart thrust out his arm to stop Officer Kisaragi from bounding into the woods in pursuit.

_We have come back to you, my liege. _

Elaeus put his hand on his forehead. Was he going insane, or did he just hear voices…?

"Did you…" he trailed off. Evidently, they hadn't heard it.

"Let's go back inside," Officer Leonhart said calmly. They turned around and entered the living room again.

"Squall!" Officer Kisaragi protested angrily. "What are we doing?! Why aren't we going after the Duck thingy?!"

"Dusk," Elaeus muttered to her.

"Yeah?!"

"Because," Officer Leonhart said calmly. "We wouldn't have been able to catch it. And it's Leon," he added as an afterthought.

"How do _you_ know?"

"I've tried before," he said, startling Officer Kisaragi into silence. "During the second murder case. I saw one in the alley. They're impossible to catch. They disappear right into thin air."

"Why didn't you tell me?!"

"I did. You didn't see it. No one could see it."

"Oh…" Officer Kisaragi said, finally over her annoyance.

Officer Leonhart turned to Elaeus, who ran his fingers through his cropped red hair tensely. Officer Leonhart had a really threatening look in his steel gray eyes. "What do you know about it? How do you know what it's called?"

"I-I don't know," Elaeus said, shaking his head. "It just, sort of, came to me. I don't think I've ever even seen anything like that before and yet it seemed strangely familiar…"

"I think I know what you mean," Officer Kisaragi said wisely, bobbing her dark head. "Like, just last week, I saw this creepy looking, dark-haired dude in a red cape, and I was all like, 'that guy looks familiar, have I seen him before?'"

"Yuffie," Officer Leonhart said, bringing his palm to his face in exasperation. "Focus, this is serious. We don't need to hear about any more of your paranoid illusi-"

"It's true!" Officer Kisaragi started. Officer Leonhart gave her a look that made her shrink back and shut up.

"Do not misunderstand me, Officer Leonhart" Elaeus said. "If I had anything more to tell you, I would. I am just as concerned as you are about this whole scenario."

"I understand," Officer Leonhart said gravely. "We have another interview scheduled, so we'd better go. Expect us to contact you sometime soon; this case in nowhere near closed."

"Of course," Elaeus said. He nodded to them both in turn, "Officer Leonhart, Officer Kisaragi, I wish you luck."

"Oh," Officer Kisaragi laughed. "You can call me Yuffie. And you can call _him_ Squall." She leaned in closer and whispered, "He _loves_ it when people call him Squall."

"It's Leon," Leon hissed acidly.

"Right," Elaeus said with a solemn smile.

And with that, the two officers left his house at last, leaving him, finally, to mull over his thoughts.

-5-5-5-

Ienzo rapped sharply on the shabby, oak door. He looked up at the eccentric, leaning, stone tower before him, clearly unimpressed. It was obvious that whoever lived here was _not_ normal, and Ienzo was one of those people that were skeptical of all un-normalcy. They usually had a horrible habit of wasting his time.

Someone appeared at the door at last, bringing together the perfect picture of unconventional -ism that Ienzo had expected.

The man was tall, with beady, exaggerated eyes, a long, gray beard, and a sharp nose. A pointed, blue hat was on his head, and he was wearing a set of matching blue robes.

"Are you Mr. Yen Sid?" Ienzo asked, quirking an eyebrow as he looked the man over. He smelled strange, like something that reminded Ienzo of brooms…

"It's Master, actually," the man said primly, answering Ienzo's question. "And what do you want? I'm not buying anything from you, so you might as well go-"

"I'm not selling anything," Ienzo cut in pointedly. Yen Sid's eyes grew weary as he looked down at him.

"Actually, I was hoping you could answer a few of my questions…"

"Oh, did you now?" Yen Sid asked guardedly. "And what might your name be, oh Nosy One?"

Ienzo smirked.

"It's Zexion."

**End Note: Aww…you thought there wasn't going to be a cliffhanger this time? Sorry, no can do. It's like, the only way I am able to end chapters (shrugs).**

**Again, so sorry for my humanness of making any spelling/grammar mistakes (well, actually, according to Microsoft Word I've made about 50 spelling/grammar mistakes, but who's counting?). My bad. I apologize deeply. **

_**Ha! This worked last time. You **_**know **_**it worked last time. So **_please _**review. (sharpens knife)…or else! **_

_b9 iNe_


	5. Chapter V

**Author's Note: AHHH! It's chapter V already! Wow, it's late. This is 13, (no joke), pages long, and I'm really, really tired. Enjoy. And sorry in advance for any mistakes. Like I said, 'tis laaate. (yawn)**

**Oh, by the way, if I haven't responded to your review yet, it means I accidentally deleted it in my inbox. I'm really sorry.**

**This chapter is dedicated to you, fair readers, (especially you REVIEWERS! I heart reviewers), because you are the reason I'm staying up until twelve o'clock on a school night to finish this. **

**Disclaimer: Nope. Don't own.**

Chapter V

Ienzo hadn't meant to say it.

"It's what?" Yen Sid asked, clearly beyond shocked.

But for some reason, it had slipped out. _Zexion…_the name had been haunting him for awhile now, always at the edge of his mind, just beyond coherent thought.

And then, suddenly, it had come to him.

"Come in, then," Yen Sid said after a moment of silence. His face was impossible to read, but at that moment a distinct scent drifted through the air.

_Disgust…_

They entered a small, circular room with a spiraling staircase going up beyond Ienzo's line of sight. A door led off into another room, and Yen Sid went through it, followed by Ienzo.

"Sit down," ordered Yen Sid as he pointed to an uncomfortable looking couch. The elder sat in the chair across from it, watching beadily as Ienzo slowly did as instructed.

"Now," Yen Sid started wearily, avoiding Ienzo's eyes. "I believe you had some questions?"

-6-6-6-

Elaeus hated being late.

Unfortunately, lateness was something that couldn't always be avoided.

Which was why he found himself in _The Underworld_, ironically enough; a local Roman restaurant, at 3:53. He was supposed to have arrived at 3:45. The traffic that day had been unfortunately unavoidable, no matter how many times Elaeus had silently willed the earth to swallow up the endless line of cars.

"I apologize for my lateness," Elaeus said as he approached the table occupied by a scarred, brunet man and an overexcited, dark-haired woman.

The man didn't reply, but the woman, Yuffie, responded, "That's a-okay! I was just telling Squally here about this one time I went to this place that reminded me of _this_ place, like, a coliseum, and I met this really good-looking, legendarily strong guy. And I totally kicked his butt! And th-"

"Hey. My name's Meg and I'll be taking care of you today. Are you all ready to order?" said a curvy, brunet woman in a voice that clearly said, 'I-am-way-to-good-for- this-job-so-you'd-better-not-rub-it-in'. In a totally unconventional way, of course.

They all ordered their food, and Meg swished off to fulfill her mythical duty of table serving.

"We've found out some more information on the case," Leon supplied in the silence.

"And you're allowed to let me in on this?" Elaeus questioned.

Leon shrugged. "It's nothing new. And I have a feeling that you may be able to be of assistance to us. You are willing to help out, right?"

Elaeus nodded. "Of course. And am I right in understanding that this has nothing to do with the Dusk?"

"Yeah, Squall, of _course _he is!" Yuffie said as she gave Leon a playful punch on the shoulder. "And no, it doesn't, unluckily."

"It's _Leon_," snarled Leon.

"Quit getting off subject, then," Yuffie told off, ignoring Leon's last comment. "Tell him!"

Leon shot her a menacing glare before leaning in towards the center of the table and saying quietly, "It seems there's been a pattern in the attacks."

"What sort of pattern?" Elaeus asked, finally curious.

"Well," Leon said hesitantly. "There's…it's complicated…"

"Is not," Yuffie said primly. "Fine, _I'll_ explain."

She paused for a moment and took a deep breath, and the next words she said were surprisingly clear and serious. "It's like this. Everyone who's died so far has had three main factors, besides the obvious one that they're all male. A) They were alone when it happened, B) the doctors who have done the biopsies for all of the victims have come to no definite conclusions on their cause of death, and C) they were all found with a number written on their chest."

Elaeus' mind was racing as he tried to be ethical. "Alright, first of all, they were not_ all_ alone when they were killed. I believe Dilan and Braig were killed in the same alleyway at approximately the same time, am I correct?"

Leon sighed and muttered, "This is why _I _should have explained it."

Yuffie ignored him and shook her head. "No, we have actually determined that Braig went into the alley first, for whatever reason, and was killed then, probably instantly. _Then_ Dilan followed him in, probably after hearing the commotion, and was killed."

"So, Dilan, in all probability, saw the killer?"

Leon shrugged. "Possibly, though it makes no difference now."

"What about that part about the doctors not knowing the cause of death? I thought they were all determined. A heart-attack, fatal wounds, a shot to the head…"

"Rumors," Leon said. "We didn't start all of them, but we've encouraged them, actually. The murders have already gotten way too much publicity."

Elaeus didn't ask what he meant by that.

"Yeah, the only thing that was confirmed with the docs was that they all died of a heart-related injury."

"What do you mean?"

She paused here and looked around. "Okay, this is the really strange part. Apparently, well…it's like they-"

"_Have_ no heart," Leon said simply.

"So the murderer _ripped_ their heart out of their chest?" Elaeus asked calmly, not really getting why Leon and Yuffie seemed to be having difficulty comprehending how _that_ could kill a person. Or at least inflict a serious injury.

"No," Leon said. "There weren't any marks on the bodies; hardly a scratch, in fact. It's like," he paused here, thinking. "It's like the killer took a _part_ of them. They still had a physical heart, just not a…a metaphorical heart? It's hard to explain."

"But, how could _doctors_ figure that out? And how is that even possible?"

"The tests they ran," Leon shuddered. "I'm no doctor, but those were the scariest test results I've ever seen. The machines went absolutely haywire trying to do what the doctors told them to do. It was nearly impossible deciphering anything."

"Which is why," Yuffie continued eagerly. "They came to the conclusion that there _was_ nothing to decipher."

"I'm afraid I'm not following you."

"The bodies; they _were_ nothing, Elaeus. Like they were fading away… There _was _nothing left uncover. There was _nothing_. That's it."

"And," Elaeus said slowly. "That is a heart-related injury?"

"The heart is the most vital organ, not only literally, but figuratively. The heart in a literal sense, is a muscle that pumps blood and so forth, but the metaphorical heart, that's important, too. Our bodies, our minds, our souls; they make us people. But the heart, _that_ makes us human beings."

"The last part, about the numbers," Leon said lowly, breaking the heavy silence. "That part wasn't known to the public, either. It's another one of those things that just…" he shuddered. "It's how we know that the killer is probably working off of a list, of some sorts."

"What?"

"Ansem had a one written on his chest in magic marker, Braig had a number two with ink, Dilan had a number three that was actually _carved_ into his, and Even had a number four with some of his spilled chemicals."

"Whoever's number five…" Leon said gravely. "We _need_ to find him."

-5-5-5-

"I think you know what my questions are," Ienzo said smoothly. He was, quite honestly, making it up as he went along. This is the time when he hoped desperately that his old housekeeper that had called him a 'devilishly good actor', (when he was caught, at five years old, convincing the gardener's obnoxious daughter that he was allergic to girls), wasn't joking.

"Oh, do I now?" Yen Sid asked distantly. He still avoided Ienzo's eyes, and seemed to be deep in thought.

"Yes," Ienzo replied simply. He willed the man to look him in the eye desperately.

Yen Sid surveyed him, his eyes finally locking with Ienzo's. "You're right."

"Will you answer them?"

Seconds passed as Yen Sid's eyes watched his, transfixed.

"A few months ago," he started. "A man came to me. He told me to wait for a young man named Sora, as Sora would be the key to the universe's survival. He said that when I found him, I was to give him this, with the instructions to stop dark creatures, called Heartless, from stealing the hearts of the people on the list. Also, after the Heartless were stopped, Sora was to dispense of the person himself."

Yen Sid shook his head, breaking eye contact. "He said that the Heartless would come to the first person on the list first, the second one second, and so forth. If Sora and his friends wanted to succeed, they would start by keeping the first person safe from the first Heartless attack and then dispose of them, until all fourteen people on the list were taken care of."

"When I demanded to know why, he responded that where he was from, wherever that may be, the Heartless are in plenty and strange creatures called 'Nobodies', a body and soul without a heart, haunt a world that never really was."

"He said that these 'Nobodies' had formed a group made up of the 'elite' of their kind, called 'Organization XIII'. This organization's goal was to collect hearts, so that one day, they may have a heart of their own. They went about stealing peoples' hearts and letting it happen, causing confusion, at the very least, wherever they went. Very lastly, they wanted to create a new world where they, for once, could be considered equal."

"And he said that all of this could be prevented from happening in our world, _if _we did as instructed. These 'Nobodies' were, apparently, formerly normal people who had their heart taken from them. So, if we could somehow stop their hearts from being taken in the first place, we would be stopping a tremendous disaster. _And_ if we could _dispose_ of this 'soon-to-be Nobody' after we stopped the first Heartless attack, we could wipe our hands clean of_ all_ of it, because that way we wouldn't have to keep protecting them from Heartless for the rest of their lives. We would never be endangered by the threat of Nobodies again."

"Naturally, I thought he was crazy. But then there came along a young man named Sora, with the mentioned friends, Riku and Kairi … And strange creatures seemed to be appearing everywhere… and I noticed how all of the names on the list seemed to be legitimate, in some way…"

"But not completely?" Ienzo asked.

"No, each name was an anagram, of sorts. Each name had an 'x' added to the letters, which were then switched around to form a 'code name'. Sora and his friends have been having a bit of a difficult time deciphering the names. I've helped them on some occasions, but it's an intricate job-"

"Do you have a copy of the list?"

Yen Sid nodded and handed over a piece of paper.

The first name on the list read '1) Xemnas', with a combination of letters and names that were crossed out in the margin on the right of it. The hastily scrawled word, 'Ansem', was circled many times amidst the flurry of ink.

The names following were similar, with their 'un-coded' name, if it was discovered yet, circled.

2) Xigbar – Braig

3) Xaldin – Dilan

4) Vexen – Even

5) Lexaeus --??

The sixth name made Ienzo's heart skip a beat.

6) Zexion –

Ienzo did a quick calculation in his head. He froze.

_Take out the 'x'…_

He didn't read the rest of the names.

_Z-E-I-O-N…_

Yen Sid was watching him, looking irritated and slightly dazed, as if he had just woken up.

_I-E-N-Z-O…_

Before a word of protest could leave Yen Sid's mouth, Ienzo was out the door into the magnificent, cloudless day.

_Ienzo._

He had never been so happy to see the sun in his life.

_1…2…3…4…5…6…_

-6-6-6-

"I don't understand her at all! One second, she's all hanging on my every word, and the _next_ few seconds…well, actually a majority of the time, she's all P.M.S.–ing!"

Myde listened to Lea vent his frustrations, amused to no end.

"And she's, like, _so_ needy! I mean, did I _ever_ ask her to be like, you know?! And even if I was into _her_ type, which I'm not, if you haven't already guessed that, do you think I would have a chance in hell of falling for _her?!_ She's such a psycho b-!"

Especially since Arlene was standing right behind him.

"_What_ was that you were about to say there, Lea?" Lea spun around.

"I…uhh…"

-8-8-8-

Lea didn't come to any of his classes until 3rd period Chemistry.

"Dare I ask…?" Myde slyly whispered to him as he sat down in the chair beside him.

"Why didn't you _tell_ me she was right behind me?!" Lea demanded as he nursed his cut lip. "I just spent a portion of my day, which I _could_ have used doing schoolwork, in the nurse's office!"

"'Cause I didn't notice her 'til later. 'Sides, since when have_ you_ cared about school?"

"Hey, speaking of school, where's _Ienzo_ today?" Lea said, changing the subject and speaking Ienzo's name with palpable sarcasm.

Myde frowned. "I dunno, actually. Haven't seen him all day…"

"Is there anything you're saying that you would like to share with the rest of the children, young man?" asked there new chemistry teacher, Dr. Finkelstein.

Myde got an immediate déjà vu of being in the second grade. And why was it that this guy reminded him of a Disney character, all shiny and clean…? But wait, Disney characters were usually a bit more…pleasant, weren't they? Unless they were a Disney villain; most of _them_ are all hideously ugly, which is totally unfair when you think about it…

"Nope, nothing anyone else would care to know. Myde was just asking me for the answers on my assignment…" Lea said considerately.

"What?! No I-!"

"He was, now, was he?" Dr. Finkelstein gave Myde a withering look, which, admittedly, was quite frightening considering he was covered in aluminum plating, (for some reason), and his teeth looked quite sharp.

"I suppose I'll have to send you to the detention room after school. I will _not_ tolerate cheating in my classroom, does everyone understand that? Honestly, the kids these days…"

"This school has a detention room?" Kairi whispered to Sora during Dr. Finkelstein's endless rant. Of course, it's not like _that_ was something Kairi would know.

"Apparently," Myde answered her, shooting Lea a murderous look, which he returned with an innocent smirk.

Myde wasn't fooled. He'd been around Ienzo long enough to recognize outright maliciousness. And he was _not_ happy.

_Stupid pyromaniacs and their stupid, insurgent ways..._

-9-9-9-

As amazing as it seemed, Ienzo hadn't felt like going to school that day.

Apparently, finding out you're on someone's hit list is rather unsettling. Very unsettling, actually.

Ienzo had sprinted home, still clutching the fateful list in his hands, unconsciously close to his chest, as if by holding it closer to his heart, he could will it to all be some sort of sick illusion. It wasn't until he was upstairs in his room, however, that it had actually sunk in.

_Someone wants me dead._

He had collapsed onto his bed, overcome with the feeling of anxiety and paranoia. Every shadow had seemed a peril, every sound a trap. He had thought, in a daze, of calling out to his mother, the person that every child instinctively was supposed run to in a predicament. But the idea had left him soon after. His mother was not the one to comfort him. She was not that type of person. She wouldn't care.

Myde would.

But Ienzo had forgotten something. Just like his mother, he was never the person people could run to for reassurance. And he wasn't the one to seek reassurance, either.

So Ienzo hadn't called, and he had stayed barred in his room all throughout his sleepless night and most of the next day, too, ignoring any call or voice that asked, never begged, to know what was wrong.

But when late noon was approaching, Ienzo had finally made a decision.

He needed to tell someone, someone who wouldn't panic, someone who would stop and think logically about what his next step should be.

And so that's how he found himself on the doorstep of a brick house during school hours, on a cold, cloudy day.

"Ienzo?" asked the man at the door, clearly surprised. "What are you doing here? Isn't it school right now?"

"Yes," nodded Ienzo. "But I need to talk to you about something, Elaeus. It's rather significant, I'm afraid."

"Come in, then."

Ienzo's heart was pounding as he followed the man into the familiar living room. Did that shadow just move…?

"Speak up, Ienzo. I can tell you've a great burden on your tongue."

And so the story came pouring out of his mouth like nothing ever had before. All the while, Elaeus sat there on the old, overstuffed couch, motionless, his dark sapphire eyes never loosing their thoughtfulness.

"That is some story," Elaeus said when it was over.

"You believe him, then? You think it's all true?"

Elaeus nodded, and Ienzo looked surprised. He tried to hide how his stomach dropped and his mind lost hope. If Elaeus had dismissed the tale and insisted that it had only been a cruel joke, simply coincidences, then Ienzo could have convinced himself that Elaeus was right. But because Elaeus had believed it all true, Ienzo had to accept the hard, cruel facts.

"Yes, I believe you. If it's true, it fills in the missing pieces to a story of my own."

And so, Elaeus told him his side of the story, and then it was clear to Ienzo, too, what Elaeus was seeing.

"This is deplorable…"

"Indeed."

There was silence for awhile, the type of silence that only comes during situations like these. Then Elaeus said, "So, you think this Sora is responsible?"

Ienzo shrugged. "Probably not completely. After all, he…" he paused here. "He thought…_thinks_, that he's doing the right thing, doesn't he? He truly believes that he's doing it all for the good of mankind."

"Yen Sid, then?"

"Does it matter? It doesn't make a difference who we blame."

"No, I suppose not…"

Ienzo sighed. "I-I don't know what to do, Elaeus...there's still ten more people that are going to die because of some man's prejudice…"

"And you're number six on the list."

Ienzo shuddered. "Yes."

"Can I see this list? Do you have it?"

With shaking fingers, Ienzo withdrew the crumpled ivory slip from his jacket pocket and placed it in the man's rather larger, calloused hand.

There was quiet as Elaeus read down the list of ill-fated names. A grim smile appeared on his face.

"What?" Ienzo asked.

"I believe," Elaeus said slowly, (much to the impatience of Ienzo), "that I know some of these people. And I think I know what we can do…"

-5-6-9-

Kairi brushed her fingers through her auburn hair unconsciously. It was a habit she had picked up after her grandmother had oppressed and strained her to stop chewing it.

Well, it hadn't been her fault it had always tasted like…like…that one type of fruit…what was it called? The one shaped like a star…?

"Kaiiiii-ri! Oh, KAAAIII-riiii!"

"What, Selphie?" Kairi asked, trying to stop her voice from sounding waspish. Selphie was fun at sleepovers and parties, but jeez, she could become positively _excruciating_ in large doses.

"Will you come with me to the exercise room? Coach Strife wants me to get the heart monitors set up before gym class tomorrow."

Kairi sighed. This was the annoying thing about girls like Selphie.

"Sure, Selph."

"Yeah! Thanks, Kai! I owe you, right?" Selphie giggled.

_You bet you do,_ Kairi thought darkly as she went down the hallways towards the room with the exercise equipment.

When they got to the door, Kairi placed her hand on the knob and attempted to open it. It didn't budge.

"It's locked."

"Oops, aww man!" Selphie said despairingly. "I had so much on my mind, I forgot to get the keys from Coach Strife…"

"Maybe we can break in," said Kairi, feeling impatient. Honestly, she had things to do…

"Yeah," Selphie agreed. "The knobs on these doors are so old. If we pull enough, I bet…"

Kairi was already jimmying the door handle.

"And what are we doing now, girls?" asked a cool female voice from behind them.

Kairi spun around to find herself face-to-face with Principal Maleficent.

"Oh, me and Kairi were getting-"

"-trying to break into the exercise room? I noticed."

"What? No-"

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to send you girls to the detention room after school today…what a shame."

_Yeah, sure you old witch,_ Kairi hissed under her breath. Detention? She wouldn't be able to meet Sora and Riku right after school today. And it was important that she be there, too…

Like, life-dependency importance.

She was still seething as she made her way through the last few periods of the day. When the final bell finally rang, Kairi realized that she had no idea where the detention room was.

She searched frantically through the halls, trying to guess if someone would have had experience to know.

Seifer? Maybe, but he probably wouldn't tell her.

Pence? Probably not.

Tidus? …You could never tell with that one…

"Hey! HEY!" Kairi called after the first black clothing-wearing person she could find in the commotion. The person she had yelled after stopped and turned around.

"What?" Lea asked. Kairi, like most girls in the school, knew who Lea was, after all.

"Do you know where the detention room is?" Kairi asked, suddenly feeling shy.

"Yeah, sure," Lea said with a smirk. "It's over by the exercise room. Room 108."

Exercise room? What a coincidence.

"Right, thanks," Kairi said as she hurried off in that direction.

"Sorry I'm late," Kairi said to the teacher overseeing the detention.

"Go sit over there," the teacher pointed towards a seat in the back as the only sign of acknowledgement.

Kairi sat down, looking around at her surroundings wearily. Would the ones who were regulars here, like, attack her? Would they know, just by sight, that she didn't belong here? Where was Selphie when you needed her…

"Are you okay?" asked a voice to Kairi's right.

She started and looked over at the speaker rapidly.

It was a teenage, (wow, really?), guy, probably a little older than Kairi. He had messy, mullet/faux hawk/insert description here -styled hair that, surprisingly, looked good on him, and also seemed to be in the midst of deciding whether it was blonde or brown. His eyes were bluish-green, and at that moment they shown with mischief.

"Hey. I'm Myde."

"Kairi," Kairi said, smiling.

**End Note: …and so the spell is broken! No more super cliffhangers (well, I can't say I'll NEVER do another super cliffhanger, I mean, just for this chapter)! Say you're happy and you'll get more ends like this...maybe. **

**Naaa…I already apologized for my humanness…hmmm…**

**Oh, that's right!**

_**Uhhmmm….review?? (puppy dog eyes)**_

…

…

_**Ahh…forget this! I'm way exhaustedt to think of something creative.**_

_b9 iNe_

**P.S. (AKA: why are you still reading this part?! Submit a review, you!) lol. The whole 'devilishly good actor' thing is an inside joke with one of my favorite reviewers. …Of course, It's probably a one-sided inside joke, but an inside joke, regardless (feels extra special to be on the inside of an inside joke that probably anyone could figure out and not find to be very funny). Whatever, it's late. I'm finding lot's of things funny that I never would have when I'm fully awake.**


	6. Chapter VI

**Author's Note: Chapter six? is excited One of my favorite numbers! This took forever, but I have a legitimate reason, I swear! I sprained my middle finger on my left hand and my thumb on my right hand playing basketball, (we are a vicious team!), and I've had them both taped up since Thursday. **

**So, here I was, dutifully tapping with my pointer fingers pathetic. See how dedicated I am? **

**Anyway, I hope you especially enjoy this chapter! It was, literally, a pain to right, (don't you love puns?). **

**Oh, and thanks for all the awesome reviews, I was truly inspired!**

**Disclaimer: …Yeah, that's right. Didn't you hear I was the new owner of Kingdom Hearts? You didn't? Okay, never mind then…**

Chapter VI

Detention, Kairi had decided, really wasn't _too_ bad. True, the sweaty girl behind her kept humming tunelessly and the guy off to the corner kept shooting her creepy looks, but, honestly, she was expecting worse.

Of course, the high entertainment level was probably due to the fact that Myde kept up an entertaining, whispered conversation to the guy sitting next to him.

"…so I told him, 'in some third world country, the students would be considered beyond privileged and genius to make it to high school, where they would be grateful just to take some subject like math or chemistry. So why is it that _we_ have such unneeded subjects like gym? I mean, who _needs _gym, really? If we put half the effort on helping the starving kids in Africa as we did in gym, we'd be doing the world such a huge favor. So why _force_ us to take a subject that only limits what we could be doing to help _us_ help the _world_?'"

Myde looked wide-eyed at his friend, who's, like Myde's, hair seemed to be in the midst of light brown and pink. Wasn't there a dress-code violation against hair of that color?

"What did Coach Strife say?" Myde asked.

A sigh escaped his lips. "He asked what I was planning to do in the future to help the orphans and that if gym conflicted with it, I should let him know. Then he said I'd better start acting my age, that taking gym this year was a requirement, and to get my uniform on my scrawny gay ass before-"

"Wow, you got him to say all _that?_ I've never heard him say more than one sentence, and that was before our swim meet…"

"Yeah, he did seem kind of mad. But I don't know why he was calling _me_ gay…"

Myde and his friend continued to keep up a conversation, all the while making Kairi astounded that the supervisor hadn't made them shut up yet. They weren't even whispering anymore. She looked up to see the teacher was snoring loudly in her chair. Figures, that's so classic.

Unable to keep up with the conversation, Kairi started doodling idly on her paper. Let's see…she'd already done her English…her Calculus…her Physics…was there _anything_ to do?

The graceful curves she had been unconsciously etching on her paper turned into an upside-down heart. She drew it into a more symmetrical and geometric design; a heart with half circles cut into the edges halfway down the heart, a tail that curved out in two different directions, turned so that they would intersect eventually, and then going up to meet each other. It looked vaguely like a cross with a heart-like shape on the bottom outcrop.

"What's that?" Kairi turned to see Myde staring at her paper.

She looked at her sketch and shrugged. "I don't know, I was just doodling."

"It…looks familiar…" Myde said, a look of far-off concentration forming on his face.

Kairi shrugged. She thought she saw him turn back to his conversation.

She continued to doodle. She'd been a pretty good drawer when she was little, maybe she could take art class this summer…

_'Lexaeus'_ she wrote, thinking of nothing else to do.

'_Asulee'_ she scrawled, than crossed it out. They'd already looked up that one. True, there had been some poor kid in Washington named that, but that couldn't have been it…

_'Uelae'_. Wait, they'd tried that one, too. Hmm…

She tried to go down the other names on the list, but the only ones she had memorized were Demyx and… Mansex, or something like that...

Shrugging, she wrote 'Demyx' in her smooth print. Not as many options for this one…

_'Edym'_? Could be…

_'Medy'_…? No…

"Hey, you made one of those gram things for my name. What are they called again? Anagrams…?" Kairi jumped. Myde had left his conversation and was looking over her shoulder again. It probably had to do with a short attention span. He seemed like one of _those_ people.

"Wait, what?" Kairi asked. His words hadn't really registered at first, and once they had, she did a double take.

"Myde," Myde said, gesturing at himself. "M-Y-D-E."

That was around the time when Kairi decided she felt like shooting herself. But not in a literal sense, of course.

_Myde_ she wrote. And she circled it. Nine times.

-9-9-9-

When Ienzo got home that day, he was marginally calmer. Talking to Elaeus had been helpful, especially since they now had some sort of plan of action.

Of course, that didn't stop his alarm from showing when a voice called out on his left.

"Oh, dear! I'm so sorry. I hadn't meant to…" a blustering Merryweather said as she stepped into the hallway.

"Right. Hello," he dismissed vaguely, his mind already off the current interruption, but remembering to greet her, nonetheless. Nonexistent greetings were a pet peeve of his.

"Did you have a good day at school?" she asked persistently.

"Hm? Oh, yes," Ienzo replied. Apparently the school hadn't called to report his absence yet.

He brushed pass her and made his way up the elaborate mahogany staircase before she could question him further.

Feeling paranoid, he shut and locked his bedroom door after he had entered it. He closed the curtains, and paused for a moment to listen. Hearing nothing, he reached into his pocket and took out his cell phone.

He heard the phone ringing on the other end of the line as he brought it to his ear.

"Speaking," a monotone, slowly enunciating voice answered after several rings.

"Ais, are you busy?" Ienzo said.

"What is it now? And what does it include? Nothing illegal, I hope. I charge extra for that," Ais said coolly.

Ienzo scoffed. "Please, be serious. Would you honestly expect anything less of me, for this instance?"

"I suppose not. You were never one for the simple plans, were you?"

"When have I ever gotten into something I couldn't get out of?" Ienzo shot back.

Ais sighed. "A fair point. So, what is it that you need? And please skip the subtleties. I'm not particularly in the mood for your antics."

"Of course not." Ienzo paused for a moment. "I was advised to give you a warning."

"Warning?"

"Yes. Someone is looking for you. And they don't have good intentions. Be on your guard."

"I thought I told you _not_ to speak cryptically."

Ienzo glared at the phone. "Don't give me that. If Elaeus hadn't asked me to call and give you notice, you know I wouldn't have."

"Elaeus told you? I had only assumed. Him and his trying to make people become friends again…" Ais said. "Is that all?"

"…I suppose so."

"Heh, you know, this is where I'm glad I still have the ability to find immense amusement in your discomfort."

At this point, Ienzo flipped the phone shut, hanging up on his least favorite uncle, and thereby sealing his fate.

6666

"Ugh…what's that thing?"

"I think it's the kidney…"

"No, _that's_ the kidney. _That's_ the liver."

"Ah…Of course, why hadn't I known that? Doesn't everyone know where the liver is these days?"

"You're hilarious. Really."

"I do try."

A few days later, fourth period biology was in full progress, and Lea was poking at his pinned down frog with his scalpel while a cringing Myde watched.

"I'm naming him…Roxas!" Lea declared as he poked the poor creature's miniscule heart, all the while turning to see how the group next to them was executing the dissection.

"What kind of name is that?" Myde couldn't resist asking while Ienzo calmly grabbed Lea's hand and wrenched the knife out of it.

"What was that for?" Lea demanded as Ienzo gave him a look.

"You're going to hurt someone. And you're not supposed to cut the stomach in half. We still need that."

"I wanted to see if there was a fly inside, or something."

"Don't you dare put that fat body in your mouth, Hayner, regardless of how much money you'll get when you do! Does anyone in this class have sense?!" the Biology teacher, Mr. Hojo, exclaimed in his manic voice that, effectively, made Hayner drop the long, golden string of fat he was about to bight into.

"Where'd you come up with the name 'Roxas'?" Myde asked insistently.

Lea shrugged. "I dunno. It, at the risk of sounding philosophical, just came to me."

"Is that the spleen?" Tidus asked eagerly from a nearby table, pointing at something with enthusiasm.

"No, Tidus. That's the part that makes him a boy," replied one of his partners, Lulu, calmly.

"…Oh."

"Oh, alright then," Mr. Hojo said hastily after Pence had come up and asked whether they eyes were _supposed_ to be twitching. "We're done for today. Please make sure to put your frogs away properly this time. Last time I had to-"

No one listened as they stuffed their frogs back into the cupboard, clearly improperly. They all either hated Mr. Hojo, or were the type of people not to listen to instructions. Or both.

Everyone left the classroom simultaneously, not wanting to be the last inside and made to clean up everyone else's mess.

A burgundy streak collided with Myde as he stood in front of his locker.

"Woah, I'm sorry, Kairi," Myde said apologetically to the figure sprawled on the ground.

Ienzo tensed in his place in front of his own locker; directly left of Myde's.

"O-oh…th-that's alright Dem- I mean, Myde!" Kairi stuttered out as she looked up wildly and attempted to stand.

"Hey, are you okay? You look kind of…"

"Fine! I'm fine. I have to go. I'm…late for my next class," Kairi said quickly, avoiding all eyes, and she rushed off.

"What's up with her?" Myde asked Ienzo, clearly confused. Ienzo watched Kairi disappear around the corner, a numb sensation rising in his chest

_Dread._

He _knew_ this feeling.

By the time the school day was over, Ienzo already knew what hadn't been said, an instinct he may or may not have wanted live without. There was something, was it the overall aura? The scent? The un-emotion in his chest? Regardless, the facts were apparent: They were too late.

Number five was gone.

And number six was next.

666

_Earlier._

Elaeus watched Ienzo's short figure leave, fingering the crumpled, fateful paper in his hand. His mind strayed from the current problem.

He remembered the time he and Ienzo had met clearly.

That night, Elaeus had been unable to sleep. Too much coffee, probably. It had been a weekend, and like most weekends, he'd had nothing to use the ever-present caffeine in his body for. So, like many people who like cool, quiet places, Elaeus had found himself outside on his front porch.

All but ten minutes of the peaceful quiet had passed, and Elaeus had been nearing slumber when he heard a soft pitter-patter on the sidewalk outside his house.

Sitting stalk-still, Elaeus listened as an almost nonexistent figure made its way lithely through the shadows, like a cat invisibly walking through a dog's territory.

"What are you doing out so late?" Elaeus had inquired. He had noticed immediately how short the shadow was, and so assumed it was a child, and thereby harmless, (not like a full-grown man could harm Elaeus, but he was cautious, all the same).

The shadow stopped.

"I apologize, did I startle you?"

"Only to the extent to which I _can_ be startled," a dry voice answered.

"Come into the light, will you? I'm afraid I can't see in the dark, unlike you, it seems."

"Why?"

"I mean you no harm, and I believe I haven't gotten an answer to my previous inquiry."

"I'm leaving."

"Leaving? Home, you mean? You're running away."

There was a brief pause. "Yes."

"Come up here," Elaeus had insisted. "Didn't I promise I meant you no harm?"

"Promises can be shattered just as easily as they are forged." But the figure stepped onto the porch, nonetheless.

Elaeus was surprised, to say the least. The words the young boy had uttered seemed far beyond his years. He was short, even at that age, and his lilac hair had just started to grow enough to flop over his pale, round face. His eyes were suspicious as they surveyed Elaeus, who had gotten the strange feeling of being sized up from the boy, who couldn't have been more than nine.

The rest of the conversation had been lost in the labyrinth of time, beyond the reach of Elaeus' memory.

He still remembered one more thing, though.

_"Do you believe in nothing becoming something? Literally? Do you believe in imitations?"_

_"Imitations?"_

_"Yes. Do you believe that if something mimics, with enough time and accuracy, with enough…passion, I suppose, that it could become more than just an illusion? That it _deserves _to become more than an illusion? That it may even deserve more than the original to be considered real, in its own right?"_

_"Why do you ask? And how could that ever apply to anything?"_

_Ienzo gave Elaeus a solemn look. "I've had this feeling for awhile now. Approximating, somehow, that I'm missing something. I feel like, I need to know something I don't. And if nothing can't become something, do any of us have any hope? Because we're all becoming nothing, someday…"_

_"Are you referring to when we die?"_

_"I don't know, am I? Perhaps, but perhaps not. It's true, in that aspect, I suppose. But could it be the same from a different perspective?"_

_"How do you mean? Different perspective?"_

_"Yes. What if…something, somehow, lost its… not identity…its _core. _Its very foundation that makes it human?" _

_Ienzo continued. "Would, it deserve pity if it couldn't, wasn't able to, return it?"_

Ienzo had twisted Elaeus' life around from the day they had met, forming it into something that was beyond recognition. Before, Elaeus had perceived himself as a rather deep thinker, with a general understanding of philosophy. But after talking to Ienzo, Elaeus was always given new things to think about, things he never would have imagined.

Ienzo's very words had changed him, had opened his eyes to so many things.

Shrugging off the feeling of nostalgia, Elaeus got down to business, mulling over things to do. Thinking of nowhere else to start, he sat down at his kitchen table and wrote a name he and Ienzo had already grimly determined on the paper.

_Lexaeus- Elaeus._

His eyes were immediately drawn to one of the last names on the list.

_Roxas._

Elaeus quirked his head, an answer coming to him as soon as the letters were registered.

_R-o-a-s._

Wasn't this dramatic? Oh, what will they do when they find out…

A knock sounded at Elaeus' door. Could Ienzo have forgotten something? Or perhaps it was Leon…

Stretching, Elaeus got up from his chair and went to answer it.

The door was creaky, so there was no way that Elaeus could have heard the _swish_ sound of something cutting dangerously through the air, no way he could have heard the quiet shuffle of feet as they positioned themselves into an offensive stance.

And there was no way he could have heard the strangled cry as metal collided with his skull.

**End Notes: Ahh!! It's return of the cliffhangers! I bet you can guess what happened now, though, (or did something else?). …I'm sorry, but I really had nowhere else to stop. This chapter was getting way too long.**

**Today, you can feel extra special for grammar Nazi –ing my story. I'm truly sorry for any mistakes, but I wasn't too concerned on proper grammar this time around. I tried my best. shrugs**

**Oh, and flamers aren't welcome either, evil Zexion glare**

**Constructive criticism is appreciated, though, so feel free to leave me some of that. **

**So, ah, review? Please?**

_**Holds up broken hands don't you think I deserve a review?**_

_**b9 iNe **_


	7. Chapter VII

**Author's Note: Yay for chapter VII! I'm so happy I'm done! The funny thing is, I did this all in nearly a day. Oo That NEVER happens with me.**

**Thanks for the reviews, by the way!**

**Anyway, you're probably not caring what I'm saying right here, so I'll just get to the point.**

**Disclaimer: Please don't attempt to sue meee, I'm broke!!**

**I now present to you:**

Chapter VII

"Where are we going again?" Myde asked for the third time as Ienzo dragged him out the main entrance after school.

"_We_ aren't going anywhere," Ienzo supplied coolly as he searched the parking lot for Myde's car. "_You're_ going home, and _I'm _going…to the library."

"But WHY?" Myde whined, sounding remarkably like his nine-year-old self.

"Because," Ienzo said slowly as he located the powder blue…thing that Myde calls a car. "We have a project to finish, I'm the only one who can effectively go to a library without getting lost, and you're faster at typing."

"What project?"

Ienzo sighed. "The physics project for Ms. Trepe. I can't believe you don't remember…"

"Oh, _that_ project."

Ienzo kept his face exasperated, but he was secretly relieved beyond measure that Myde had believed him.

"Hey!"

Myde was already in the car but Ienzo still turned and shot the intruder a murderous look.

Lea stared at him, green eyes narrowed. "What do you think you're doing, shorty? Me 'n Myde were going to-"

Ienzo resisted the urge to slap him as he says in a low voice, "I don't _care_ what you were going to do, you ass."

"Wait-"

"No," Ienzo said, feeling an unexplainable sensation of superiority over the redhead who was both taller and older.

Lea looked rather taken aback at the viciousness of the look on Ienzo's usually semi-neutral face.

"We're _going_."

"Alright," Lea said simply, "but I'm coming, too."

_1…2…3…4…5…6._

It was a sign of complete exhaustion that Ienzo didn't argue. Instead, he merely sat down in the passenger seat of the car, was silent as he heard Lea get into the back, and ignored their conversation as they made their way, slowly, to Myde's house.

Ienzo shot out the door as soon as Myde put the car into park. He looked around distrustfully, and seeing nothing suspicious, he turned to Myde.

Lea was already through the front door, calling to Myde's mother about something or another that probably had to do with Lea and his awesomeness, Ienzo supposed.

"What's_ really_ up, Ienzo?" Myde asked softly, surveying him in a sad manner that made him feel insanely culpable. "I know there isn't really a project, you know."

Ienzo was silent as he avoided Myde's trusting eyes, trying to slow his racing heartbeat and mind. What was wrong with him? He_ never_ lied to Myde…

But the answer was so unlike himself; obvious, both to himself and Myde: he was scared. Not 'there's a monster in my closet' scared, but the terrific fear you get when you know someone you care about is in a tremendous amount of danger.

Ienzo was terrified.

"Tell me the truth, Ienzo."

Ienzo's eyes met Myde's. "The murders…they're all related. I can't…I can't really explain…it's a long story."

"There's time, isn't there?" Myde asked, and Ienzo somehow knew that there were two meanings to Myde's question.

"No. I have to go."

"Where?"

Myde's face was getting mildly frantic as Ienzo replied coldly, "Somewhere you can't follow."

"_Where _are you going, dammit?!" Myde said, and a glint of desperation shone in his eyes. He roughly seized the front of Ienzo's shirt and shook him.

"Stop it, Myde."

"_Where are you going?! Answer me, traitor!"_

Ienzo paused. "Traitor?"

"You promised! You said we'd be friends, remember?! You _liar!_"

"We _are_ friends."

"No," Myde said, his voice shaking. "If we really were, you'd tell me what's been going on."

"I have to-"

"Just stop lying, for once in your life! You know you don't really have to go, you're just running, like you always do!"

Ienzo was silent as Myde's furious words continued.

"You're nothing but a cruel, heartless bastard who thinks he's better than everyone else!"

It felt as though a knife was not only stabbing, but slicing and shredding his chest. He knew Myde shouldn't be acting like this after all, it was a ridiculous overreaction. But still…if Myde had interpreted the words the way Ienzo had meant them…yet, Myde wasn't that observant, was he?

Long seconds passed in the semi-silence, the heaving of Myde's breath the only thing reaching Ienzo's ears. Myde was still clutching Ienzo's shoulders, and Ienzo realized that his hands were shaking.

He turned his head away from Myde's angry expression, so the only side of his face visible to Myde was the side his hair conveniently drooped over. Closing his eyes, (because Myde wouldn't see this sign of weakness, anyway), he coolly said the words he knew he'd have to say eventually.

"Let me go, Myde."

Like nearly everything Ienzo said, this phrase had a double meaning.

And, for once, Ienzo knew for sure that Myde had understood.

696

Elaeus' neck felt like it was holding up a boulder. A really heavy, throbbing boulder.

Nevertheless, he hadn't lost consciousness. Yet.

Unfortunately, as he stumbled blindly towards safety, it was probable he wouldn't last for much longer.

After all, black, insect-like things were invading his vision everywhere, and either, A) he was in the final stages of fainting where everything went black and it was just taking a little longer than usual, or B) the black things really _were_ real and moving and were therefore going to cause him bodily harm in one way or another.

Either way, the outcome seemed bleak.

He heard distant voices that seemed to be debating about something coming from his living room. He, however, was in the hallway and therefore didn't see who it was. But a part of his brain had already vaguely registered that it was Sora, Riku, and Kairi.

Hence the 'stumbling blindly' away part.

He felt an unexpected weight on his back, and sharp knives were suddenly gouging at his shoulder blades. Instinctively, he shoved his back against a wall with enough force to cause a dent. The shadow let go and fell to the floor. His victory was short-lived; there are still many more.

He crushed another shadow as he ran down the hall, adrenaline finally kicking in. And then another…and another. Perhaps he would survive this after all…

He fell to the floor with an echoing crash.

"You're not going anywhere," said his obstacle, a pale teenage boy with shaggy silver hair and accusing eyes.

"Do you really understand what you're doing, Riku? Are you fully aware?" Elaeus asked, keeping his voice gentle. He stared up at the figure before him from his position on the floor. If only he could…

A shadow came up from behind Riku, and for a second, Elaeus hoped it would tear Riku to pieces for what he had done, what he was _doing_.

Riku slashed through the air with lightening speed, bringing a strange-looking sword out of seemingly nowhere. The shadow turned to dark fog, and then faded away, like a discarded promise. Out of sight, perhaps, but not out of mind.

"How do you know my name, Lexaeus?" Riku asked, his voice oddly suave and low for the situation.

"How indeed…?" Elaeus agreed, his mind shifting to Ienzo. There was no way he could help him now.

"Riku!" a female voice called from somewhere behind Elaeus. "Get over here!"

"I found him! I need to stay here! Tell Sora to close the keyhole." Riku called back, and Elaeus saw this as his chance.

Launching himself off the floor towards the teenager, Riku was taken off guard, and only managed a small yelp as Elaeus punched him, full force, in the face. Not bothering to look back, he took off at a run towards the nearest door, which happened to be his bedroom.

He closed his eyes and let out a sigh of relief as he shut his door, reveling in the lack of commotion. He looked up to survey the damage.

Ten pairs of eyes were staring back at him through his bedroom window. Big, round, yellow eyes that seemed to take up much of the creatures' faces. Antennae twitched back and forth, sensing the change in the room. They started clawing at the glass, sending shivers up Elaeus' spine at the unbearable sound.

This was it. He was trapped.

A numb feeling overtook Elaeus' body, almost as if he were dreaming. Looking down, he noticed for the first time that the knuckles on his right hand were covered in blood; probably Riku's. He had hit him pretty hard, after all.

And this thought brought an idea…foolish, perhaps, but hadn't Ienzo told him something about being insane before…?

With a grim smile, Elaeus made his decision. Would he survive this? No, but perhaps he could still help.

After all, heroes stay in one's heart forever.

555

It was an hour before Lea came out to see what was wrong.

"Hey, where'd Mr. Optimism go?"

Myde's eyes quivered, but his voice was clear as he said, "I don't know."

Lea quirked his head. "Really? Wait, did you guys have a fight?"

"No," Myde said too quickly as he slowly walked towards his house.

Not catching the hint, (or maybe he did, and was just being his normal bastard self), Lea got instep with him and said, "Hey, he's okay, right? Well, okay for _him_ that is. If you ask me, he always acts like he's gotta stick up his-"

"I…yeah. I guess he's okay…"

"Then what's the issue?"

"He just seemed really…" Myde trailed off pathetically as they entered the living room.

Lea plopped down on a couch and looked up at Myde curiously.

"What?" Myde said in response to his look.

"I've never seen you at a loss for words before…"

Myde glared, only half joking when he said, "Shut up! I'm being serious here."

"I am, too. Honestly, you know how torn up I'd be if I found out he was murdered, or something."

Horrified, Myde glared at Lea. "I can't believe you! You're such a…wait."

Myde bit his lip in concentration as he tried to remember his friend's complete words. Hadn't he said something about the murders being connected?

"What's wrong?" Lea asked, looking confused and a little hurt. "Hey, I was just joking, y'know-"

"Oh shoot…" Myde started, realization crossing his features.

"What? What is it?"

"The stupid bastard…"

"Who are you talki-?"

Myde ran for the door, not intending to ever look back.

999

Even though Ienzo had been preparing himself, the sight was worse than he could have imagined. The furniture was shredded and the house was in a general state of disarray, something that Ienzo knew Elaeus would never allow.

Ienzo picked his way carefully through the mess, taking caution in not touching anything with his bare flesh. He'd gotten there before the police had, after all; you never know what could happen.

After checking all of the front rooms, Ienzo made his way down the hall, dreading what he might find around every corner. A few specks of red on the wood floors caught his attention. He avoided it carefully, hoping that it was not Elaeus'.

The first door on the left brought what he'd been fearful of; Elaeus was lying on the floor of his bedroom. And he certainly wasn't moving. His breath caught in his chest as he rushed over to his fallen comrade.

The muscular man looked somewhat…peaceful. His eyelids were closed, hiding what Ienzo knew to be deep blue irises, though, they would never relinquish that color again. His was lying flat on his back, and Ienzo was sickened to see a 'V' etched onto his broad chest in blood. His hands were sprawled atop his stomach in a strange matter, almost as if they had been arranged that way.

Ienzo looked closer. What was wrong with his fingers…?

He fingered his chin calculatingly, his eyes bright. It was strange, indeed…

…strange enough to have been intentional?

Every single finger on his right hand was broken and lying at an odd angle. Ienzo touched the cold digits gingerly, confirming that fact. What was he trying to say here…?

Ienzo examined the left hand. The ring finger was broken, oddly enough.

His face broke into a shrewd grin as he murmured, "You've left me a final puzzle to solve, haven't you, Elaeus?"

Ienzo knew now what must have happened. In the last few minutes of his life, where he was sure he was facing death, Elaeus had come up with something he knew only Ienzo could solve, so he could leave something behind and trust it got into safe hands. Having nothing else to use, he had broken his fingers. Six of them, because he knew what the number six meant to Ienzo. To anyone else, broken fingers would not seem strange, especially since there seemed to have been a fight, but Elaeus knew of Ienzo's habit of looking too deeply into things.

"Alright, then, you've got my attention…" Ienzo said idly as he surveyed the room for any clues.

Ienzo got up and looked the furniture and walls over. He smirked as he noticed a nearly indistinguishable 'VI' that was etched onto the middle drawer of the dresser, something that was hardly visible, much less legible.

He opened the drawer and looked inside. Shirts were folded neatly on one side, and socks on the other.

Carefully, so as not to disturb anything without purpose, Ienzo lifted each shirt from its place and examined it. Nothing strange so far…

When all the contents of the drawer had been taken out and folded, precisely in the order it had been put in, Ienzo scrutinized the bottom plank of the drawer. Nothing seemed to be strange…

Feeling slightly perplexed, but even more determined, Ienzo glared at the stacks of shirts and socks calculatingly. So it must be somewhere in there…

As he put everything back in the drawer, he looked at each item carefully. He paused when a dark shirt caught his eye. He reached down and held it up, realizing with grim satisfaction that this was the next piece. It was the black turtleneck Ienzo had gotten him for Christmas last year. Elaeus had loved it, and here was something only Ienzo would know.

Ienzo examined the tag carefully, but the manufacturers' logo had been worn off after so many times in the washer. He turned the tag over and smirked. There, were the words: 2 oxrfm rxodo. 5 texfl.

Oh, the irony. Ienzo thought for nearly a second, then unscrambled the letters in his head: 2 from door. 5 left. It was a simple code, really, but Elaeus knew that Riku, Sora, and Kairi had trouble with it. Just another jibe Elaeus had made at his annoyances from beyond the grave.

Ienzo looked at the wood floorboards inquiringly. 2 from the door, 5 to the left…

Finding his target, Ienzo hurried over to the certain rectangular piece of pine and nudged his fingernails under it. It looked as if it wouldn't move, but maybe…

The floorboard lifted after only a moment of struggle, revealing an empty crevice underneath. Ienzo carefully reached his hand inside and felt around. He smiled triumphantly as he felt a slip of paper under his fingers. He pulled his prize into the light and scanned it triumphantly.

_You know who you are,_

_I marvel at how you found out so quickly, but then again, it doesn't surprise me. You always seemed the type to be unconsciously observant. I'd tell you to relax, perhaps, if it weren't for the current situation._

_I haven't much time, but I wish(ed?) to help you someway. _

_You were right. About everything._

_But before you start feeling smug, remember that_ I_ found out something you haven't yet. You know number thirteen on the list, 'Roxas'? Unscramble the letters and it will spell someone very familiar. _

_So, make of that information as you will, (and I know you will), but I'm afraid that's all I can do. It's not like you wouldn't have discovered this eventually, but I'd like to die knowing I've exposed something that may help you survive. And who knows? Perhaps it will._

_Please remember to take care of yourself._

_Elaeus_

_P.S. I have the feeling Riku is going to need plastic surgery in the near future. I really hope I'm right. Give them hell for me, will you?_

Ienzo stared at the neatly written words on the paper, a numb feeling wrenching his gut.

_Give them hell for me, will you?_

Ienzo hissed under his breath, his hands shaking in fury. He knew now, why Elaeus had tried so hard to give Ienzo somewhat of an advantage, however miniscule.

"Hypocrites…"

But that, surely, could be used for his gain.

Whatever they may have assumed, Number VI was not going down without a fight.

666

**End Note: Ta-da!! …okay, so it wasn't really a cliffhanger, was it? sweatdrop Please don't hate me, I swear I tried! hides in corner**

**I'm sorri for any speling mistaiks. Im a prittey gud spelr, bt I stiyll maik mistaiks sumtimes. Y'know? Lol. **

**Okay, seriously. I'm sorry for any spelling/grammar mistakes. I didn't proof this much. Please forgive me if I have offended you personally/religiously/spiritually/impersonally/you don't really care but I made a mistake so you're going to hate me for it :O. …well, you're welcome to, but please don't, though. I'll probably re-post this when I have more time, but right now, the point was to just make it readable. **

**Flames are not welcome hits with anti-flamer stick!! …but constructive criticism is okay. **

_**Reviews? Demyx face Please? You can't leave me any flames/constructive crit/ 'why the heck are you writing stories?!' messages if you don't reviiiiiew!! **_

_**Oh, by the way, happy Chinese New Year!! Wow, I hate rats personally, (the animal, not the people born in that year!). I'm a dog, whaddabout you??**_

_**b9 iNe**_


	8. Chapter VIII

**Author's Note: waves Hello! Guess what's awesome? No, I'm not talking about Chapter VIII, I'm talking about my new fish! XD I just got beta fish! Two of them. nods A red one and blue one. one fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish! The blue one is Shakespeare, and the red one is Sir Bubbles XIII. No joke.**

…

…**You know it's awesome. Ask me about my frog I had to dissect, if you want. His name was even cooler. .**

**Anyways, you prob'ly don't really care about this stuff, so I'll just get to the stuff you do care about. Not a lot happens in this chapter; it's mostly just a set up for chapter IX, if you must know. Sorry 'bout that, but I figured you'd rather have something now, rather than wait a few more weeks for me to write a mega chapter. **

**I hope you'll still like this chapter, regardless!!**

**Disclaimer: insert clever statement about how I don't own KH (or FF7) here**

Chapter VIII

Myde stomped through the public entrance to the police station.

"What-?"

"What do you _think_ I'm in a police station for?! I. Need. Help!" Myde exclaimed dramatically as he slammed his fist on the front desk, cutting off the dark haired officer seated there.

"Uhh…_**" **_the officer said, his eyebrows quirked in that 'I-hope-you're-not-an-escaped-convict' look.

Myde's voice was shaking as he looked at the man intently with watery eyes. "I-I…someone's out there_ killing_ everyone and I don't know my friend went and I'm scared he's going _looking_ for the killer, or something crazy like that, because when I talked to him he seemed really…really…mysterious, not that he's not always-"

"Whoa there, kid. Slow down, will you?" the man said, intervening with Myde's long winded rant.

He continued. "Just breath; you're hyperventilating. It would totally suck having to drag your fainted body out onto the street. Besides, the floors were just cleaned…"

"Zaaack! We just got another call and-! Oh, hi! Who're you?" asked a female officer, bounding into the room.

"Yuffie, give it back," a third agent insisted as he stalked in after her, his shaggy brown hair framing his glaring face.

He reached for the paper the female was waving around triumphantly and ripped it from her hands.

"Squall!" Yuffie protested as he looked down the paper. Shrugging it off, she said to the whole room in general, "There's been another murder!"

"We know him, well; Yuffie and I do, at least. He was our informant. Elaeus…25… 'found dead in his house on Impasse Ave...Violent intentions suspected,'" the brunette man, Squall, read off the paper in affirmation.

A blanket of silence fell over the room, heavy and ominous. Myde looked at each officer in turn, trying to read their faces. He was never good at that, though Ienzo could read anyone…

"Are we needed at the scene?" the first officer, Zack, finally asked.

"No, it's being covered at the moment. We'll probably have to have a look eventually, though."

Myde thought he heard Zack swear under his breath.

"Uhhm…not be rude or anything, but this is exactly what I'm talking about!" Myde said hesitantly, trying to keep his tone strictly respectful.

"What? What was he talking about, Zack? Who are you, anyway?" Yuffie questioned fixedly.

"Good question," said Zack, fixing Myde with an inquiring look.

"Oh…right. I'm Myde."

"That's nice. And what else?" Squall asked, his grey eyes intense.

Myde looked confused.

"What do you mean?"

He was looking exasperated now. "What were you rattling on about before we interrupted? Do you know something new about the killings?"

Myde blushed, feeling rather idiotic. Of course, he should have been used to that feeling, seeing as he hung sometimes hung around an aggravated Ienzo, who was excellent at making everyone around him feel stupid, but still; it was different, somehow.

"I- uh, no. I don't."

The atmosphere in the room dropped, though Myde hadn't realized that the severity level had even risen. Yuffie's shoulders visibly slumped as she threw herself onto one of the nearby chairs with a huff.

"Well? What do you want, then?" It was Zack this time.

Myde bit his lip, trying to formulate his answer before he spoke. "My friend…he knows something he's not telling me; something dangerous. And he's going off to…to do _something_. I don't know what but I'm…"

Myde looked away. "I'm scared. I have this gut feeling that I'm going to get a call sometime soon telling me he's dead. He's my best friend. I don't know…" Myde seemed to change what he was going to say mid-sentence. "I didn't know what else to do."

Looking back up, Myde noticed that Yuffie was visibly melting, obviously sympathetic. Myde internally kicked himself for being such a softie.

"I'm not sure what we can do for you," Zack said after a brief silence.

"There's more," Myde said quietly. "Ienzo, that's my friend, I followed him today, because I knew he was distracted. There'd be no other way I'd be able to get away with that, because he's really observant and stuff. He told me to mind my own business, but I-"

Squall raised his eyebrows at him.

"Right, well, I followed him as far as…Impasse Avenue, I think. He went into a house, from there. I'm not sure whose house it was, but apparently it was unlocked…"

Zack and Squall looked alarmed, but it was Yuffie who asked, "Where'd you go from there?"

"Home," Myde said sadly. "I was scared to follow him in. He looked petrified, so I can only imagine what he thought was inside. I came here after I realized how important..." Myde didn't finish.

"When was your friend at Impasse Avenue?"

"Uhh…probably around four o'clock? It was after school…"

"The timings off, then…" Zack said under his breath.

Realization showed on Myde's features, "You don't think Ienzo did it, do you?!"

"It sounds suspicious…"

Myde sputtered. "I _told_ you! Ienzo was seriously freaked out! And besides, why would the door be unlocked unless someone broke in _before_ him?!"

Zack shrugged, "You didn't let me finish. Anyway, the timings off, so you're right. But it does sound as if Ienzo knows something…"

There was silence for a moment, then, "Yuffie, do you know who called to report the murder?"

Yuffie shrugged. "A guy, I'm pretty sure. He didn't give his name."

Myde smiled suddenly. "Was he crazily…elo-…eloquent? Was he kinda impolite in a totally polite way?"

"Yep."

"Ha," Myde said, his eyes crinkled in smile. "I betcha that was Ienzo."

"I'm guessing you don't know where he is, then?"

Myde shook his head sadly.

Squall cut in to Zack's next statement. "Wait. Are you saying we're going to base a lead on what some…?" Squall seemed to be searching for a word, "…_kid _says?"

Zack sighed. "I'm grasping at straws here. We've hit a dead end, and you know it, Leon, so don't give me that look."

Yuffie shrugged. "Hey, I'm game if you are."

Nobody said anything, but nobody needed too.

They all knew they were.

999

Tidus watched Sora's face with mingling irritation. They'd been playing video games for nearly an hour now, and Sora had yet to say a word.

"I beat you. Again," Tidus finally said after Sora's tenth consecutive loss.

"Hm…" Sora agreed dully, his eyes not leaving the screen.

Frustrated, and possibly a little curious at what Sora might do, Tidus turned off the game and threw his controller at Sora's head.

It took a second for Sora to react. "Oww! Hey, what was that for?!"

"Paying attention now, are you?" Tidus asked tersely.

"What's your problem?"

"I've been carrying out a conversation with _myself_, apparently, for the last hour. What's wrong?"

Sora looked away quickly and said, "Nothing."

"You're a horrible liar."

"Well, so are you."

The teenagers glared at each other for a moment, then Sora sighed and said, "Alright…I've just been…thinking."

"What about?" Tidus asked, glad to finally have something to talk about. It's not that Tidus didn't like to talk; he just hated it when no one was listening.

Sora was saved from answering when Tidus' mom walked in and said, "You're mom just called, Sora. She wants me to drive you home right now. Apparently there was another murder."

Tidus' eyes widened. "Another one?! I can't believe this! Where's the justice?! Where's the-?!"

"Okay," Sora cut in quickly, launching himself from the couch. "Well, uh, thanks, Tidus. Sorry I wasn't much fun."

True to her word, Tidus' mom herded Sora out to her car immediately, not that he needed much persuasion.

Tidus sighed as he lay back on his overstuffed chair, thoroughly bored. Honestly, he needed some adventure…

'_How'd Sora get so lucky today?'_ he thought to himself dully, feeling, somehow, that he had just avoided a very important confrontation.

/\/\/\/T\/\/\/\/T\/\/\/\/T\/\/\/\

Riku didn't show up at school the next day, Myde noticed. Kairi and Sora were acting strange, too. Feeling proud that he was being observant, Myde took note to ask Ienzo when he saw him. That and a million other questions.

He hadn't seen Ienzo yet today, though Lea had reported that he saw him briefly before second period. They didn't have any classes together until after lunch, so Myde would have to be patient.

When Myde went in the door to his biology class, he was expecting Ienzo to be there already, like always. But he wasn't.

In fact, it wasn't until right before the class began that Ienzo arrived, attracting much more attention from their fellow classmates than Myde knew he would ever want.

Ienzo avoided everyone's eye, instead keeping his focus completely on the teacher's lecture, though Myde knew from experience that Ienzo could carry on a whispered conversation in a room of screaming kids and _still_ manage to get every word of notes.

The hour was over in what felt like minutes, and Myde scrambled up to try and beat Ienzo to the hallway, not having caught a word of Mr. Finkelstein's explanation.

"Hey! _Hey! _Ienzo!" Myde called after the short, lilac-haired head that was disappearing in the oncoming crowd of students. He dodged through the throng and began to run.

When he caught up with him, he grabbed Ienzo's shoulder.

Ienzo spun around and fixed Myde with a blank stare.

"Ah…what's wrong? I've been trying to talk to you all day?" Myde panted.

Ienzo quirked his head, but his face remained neutral. "You have? I'm sorry, I haven't noticed you. I _have_ been busy."

Myde's hand was shrugged off of Ienzo's shoulder, but he persisted. "Don't give me that. I don't know what you're up to, but-"

The bell rang shrilly, signaling the next class.

"I have to go. Calm down a bit, alright? You seem a bit jumpy. Maybe lay off the caffeine…?"

Myde's face grew stony. Ienzo only stooped to nonchalant put-downs, (with Myde, that is), when he was feeling truly desperate, and quite frankly, Myde was getting fed up with his games.

"Meet me after, okay?"

Knowing Ienzo was about to protest, Myde said through clenched teeth, "You'd _better_ be there, understand?"

Ienzo wasn't fool enough to object.

696

By the time three o' clock hit, Ienzo was feeling thoroughly miserable. Not that he'd ever admit it.

He waited as long as possible before going outside, knowing that Myde would be waiting for him in the parking lot; Myde, with his endless questions and unconscious ability to read Ienzo like a book.

Sure enough, Myde was leaning against his run-down car when Ienzo finally got the nerve to leave. He was biting his lip in that habitual way he always did, and Ienzo honestly couldn't stay mad much longer. Stupid Myde…

"Let's go somewhere," Ienzo said first, surprising Myde.

"Al-Alright."

They got in the car, and Ienzo looked over at Myde, waiting for him to speak.

Myde took his time, for once. He started the engine and let it idle for a minute before, finally, driving out of the nearly empty lot.

It wasn't until they'd been driving for nearly five minutes that Myde finally asked, "Will you tell me what you've been doing, now, please?"

Ienzo sighed, but didn't answer. He didn't know what to say.

"Please? You're freaking me out," Myde said pleadingly. "I…you can trust me, remember? I promise, I _swear_…"

And so Ienzo told him, finally. He told him the whole story, from his first encounter with Kairi to the clues Elaeus had left him.

The car was silent when Ienzo finished. Myde had a look of concentration on his face as he continued to drive. It's a good thing Myde can multi-task.

"I don't understand…Why are they doing that? How could they kill a living person?"

"As I said, they seem to think that, in another dimension, some will grow to become people that will oppose them, somehow."

Myde still looked confused. "But, the people they've killed, they _do _have hearts…"

"They know that." Ienzo supplied quietly. "But they think they won't have hearts, someday. There are these creatures, Heartless, that feed off hearts. The Heartless are targeting a group of people specifically, and showing up around them in consecutive order. If the Heartless succeed in taking that person's heart, the person will become something…I'm not sure what, but something…that not only Sora, Riku, and Kairi will come to hate, but all the worlds."

"Sora is trying to stop the Heartless from ever taking the individuals' heart, and therefore preventing them from ever becoming a threat."

"And then they kill them afterwards, because the Heartless are ruthless, and will never cease to hunt that person until they succeed. So, even if Sora achieves warding them off once, there's a high probability that he won't be able to do it forever."

Myde still looked horrified. "But…I've _met_ Kairi, and she's _nice_. How could she ever _kill_ someone? Even if they, supposedly, didn't have a heart?"

Ienzo looked sullen. "Some people can trick themselves in order to do anything if they can justify it in their minds. The mind is a powerful thing, after all…"

Myde's eyes were unconvinced, still grasping at straws. "_Do_ they kill them? Are you sure? I thought you said that all the victims so far had lost their hearts. So, _that_ means that the Heartless took them, not that Sora _would_ actually kill them once they were gone. Sora's only failed so far, so we can't jump to conclusions, can we?"

Ienzo thought for a moment, surprised that Myde had thought of something that no one else had yet.

"…It's possible, but not likely. After all, which makes more sense: spending your life protecting more than a dozen strangers from merciless creatures, or getting rid of them and getting on with your life?"

Myde's brow creased in thought. "I think you're underestimating him. If Sora is anything but a sociopath, he wouldn't be able to bear murdering that many people, whether innocent or not. He'd never be able to live with himself."

"But _I_ think_ you're_ underestimating the supremacy of the human mind. If Sora was told to do something, and it was hammered into his brain hundreds of times, he would accept it as the right thing to do. True, he'll have a breakdown later in life, but that possibility is un-thought of at the moment."

Myde shook his head, still unconvinced. "Hearts are more powerful than you think, Ienzo. Haven't you ever loved someone? Family, friends?"

"…Not really," Ienzo snapped tersely, crossing his arms over his chest.

Myde's face fell, and Ienzo immediately regretted saying that.

"Oh, well, it's like, if anything happens, you immediately think of calling them up to tell them about it. And…they're the first and only person you think of when you need to write about your best friend in the whole world. And you have to tell everyone about them, too, because even if you know that they don't really like people, they're one of the best individuals you've ever met, and you wished everyone knew them like you did."

Myde paused for a moment, finally parking in front of Ienzo's house. "…You don't care what the sacrifice may be; you'd do _everything_ for them, even die," Myde's face grew a small smile, his eyes distant. "It's a nice feeling. I'm sorry you've never felt it before."

Ienzo's heart contracted in his chest, and he blurted out the first thing that came to his mouth. "Sounds more like outright suicide to me."

Ienzo was surprised when Myde smiled sadly. "Yeah, I guess it could lead to that, in some circumstances. But you have to agree; at least, with love, you'll know someone'll be waiting for you."

666

Myde and Ienzo shared no classes on Friday, so it was during lunch that Myde was given the brief chance to tell Ienzo he had called Officer Squall, (it's LEON), and tell him about the new things he had learned.

Of course, Leon had already known this, (not that MYDE knew that), having told Elaeus himself, who had then told Ienzo who had told Myde. But, there were a few new details, like the note Elaeus had left Ienzo and such, and Leon _had _remembered to say 'Thanks' after Myde was done, (just in case Ienzo was wondering, because, y'know, Leon could be rather rude).

Myde had a swim meet after school, Lea had already made plans, and he didn't feel like confining himself to a stuffy, loud school bus. So Ienzo was stuck with walking home that day. He was counting the cracks in the sidewalk as he treaded along, and when he got to five-hundred and six, he stopped abruptly.

He looked up to realize that he had just reached the sparsely used strip of road that only those who lived in his upper-class neighborhood would travel on.

There were trees all around, no longer in their bright autumn-garb like on his first day of school so many years ago, but brown and dry and dead, like long, spindly skeletons reaching up towards the vast, silver sky.

He sniffed the air. Something was off.

…_something powerful, like darkness…_

Ienzo spun around and looked to the other side of the road. He already knew what was there, even before the dark, clawing silhouettes could fully register in his brain.

They were _herding_ him, like an animal. There was only one place to go.

Clichéd or not, Ienzo bolted towards the woods.

666

**End Note: It's baaaaack. Hides from angry mob Sorry it was so short, but not about the cliffhanger. Nope. I'm entitled to a cliffy in one chapter, right? …or three chapters…or five chapters…Aw crap.**

**Just to clear things up:**

"_**Hey, Sora! You feeling lucky today?" Tidus, KH1**_

_** "Nyahh! HYPOCRITE!" Zexion, KH: CoM**_

_**"Silence, traitor!" Demyx, KH2**_

**And, one of my absolute favorites:**

_**"Did he give his name?"**_

_**"No, actually, he was quite rude."**_

_**"That**_** must**_** be Riku!" Sora and the Emperor, KH2**_

**I thought I'd add this part, just in case any of you were wondering about some of the things they say. Any of you catch some of the game references? ;)**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. I'm sorry for any spelling/grammar mistakes. I do try my hardest, but I don't proof this that thoroughly. My main goal is to make it legible, (and hopefully a bit more than that!). **

_**Review? Please? For Sir Bubbles XIII? Careful, he's ferocious; if you don't review, I'll sic him after you. **_

_**Lol. **_

_**No, seriously.**_

_**b9 iNe**_


	9. Chapter IX

**Author's Note: HA! –celebrates- chapter IX is uppp:D Wow, this chapter is kinda long for me: I hope you don't hate me for that. XD**

**We're on Chapter IX! IX is da bomb, yo! Lol. I **_**love**_** significant numbers. **

**Anyways, I hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Yess…I've made my story one line longer! That's what Disclaimers are for, right?**

Chapter IX

It's true that Ienzo was scared. In fact, he might even go as far as to call himself terrified. However, as fearful as he was, his thought process was still working perfectly fine and scheming, (though, some may beg to differ seeing as he ran for the woods). But the fact remained:

Where do most nightmares take place?

And Ienzo, contrary to what some may believe, (_really_), was _not_ one who forgave and forgot.

Vengeance was something he was naturally good at, like his heightened sense of smell and his ability to hide in the shadows. Of course, though some may call a talent of getting revenge creepily wicked, he wasn't one to ignore his gifts.

Which is why, as expected, when he caught a brief glimpse of Sora and Riku rushing towards the shadows behind him, he couldn't help but smirk.

"Kairi's over there! Hurry!" Sora called after him, gesturing in a general direction as he slashed and stabbed at the oncoming black mass.

Ienzo hissed under his breath. The nerve…

But nevertheless, at that moment a sickly sweet scent drifted in on the wind, and Ienzo grudgingly followed it into a shadow-free clearing, where Kairi was holding a flowery blade in a defensive position.

Ienzo stopped a few feet from her, catching eye-contact, his face remaining neutral. She attempted to straighten to her full height and take on a look of defiance, but after a few more seconds of Ienzo's dark-blue stare, she seemed to visibly wilt

"I…" she started feebly, her eyes wide and fearful. She trembled slightly and stepped back a little "I'm so sorry. I'll fix this, I swear!"

Ienzo quirked his head and said softly, "Will you?"

"_Yes_," she breathed with conviction, her eyes shining with tears. "I'm _so, so_ sorry. I can't believe this...I mean, I never wanted it to be like this…"

"What did you want it to be like?"

Kairi shook her head and buried her face in her hands and whimpered, "I…We _have_ to! He's _making_ us."

"He…?"

"Master Yen Sid."

Ienzo was still as he mulled this over.

"We refused to do it at first. 'It was murdering,' we thought. But then he showed us…" she trailed off.

"He showed us the darkness: what the Organization would do to the worlds, what heartbreak they would cause. He brought us there, to those other worlds: he's a magician, I guess...And we saw the empty, empty world. I was terrified: I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I'd thought he was delusional when I'd first heard his story, but when I went to that one world…I don't know. I _knew_, I could _feel _the meaninglessness, like the land I had my feet on was so insignificant that it had been forgotten and tossed away by all.

"Who would deserve to live like that...? Deprived of even the right to be human? Loathed by everyone…alive, yet never _living. _And I thought, 'I'd rather die then live like that, to have to suffer like they will, and not even feel it…!' I pitied them…_so_ much.

"When we got back, Yen Sid threatened us, and my choice was made."

"So," Ienzo said slowly, "you would trade our lives for yours?"

"He was going to kill Sora and Riku…I couldn't let that happen."

"Hey!" the silence was broken as a high, male voice called, and Kairi's eyes moved from his to the figure now approaching Ienzo from behind.

Ienzo listened for a brief moment, then took a small sidestep. The person charging towards him was not anticipating this, and ran right pass, not even brushing Ienzo's shirt.

"In a hurry?" Ienzo asked Sora lazily. Sora glared at him viciously, bright, angry blue eyes meeting skeptical, dark blue ones. Ienzo smirked slightly.

"Yeah, I am actually: to get rid of _you!_" Sora snapped back.

"Hmm…" Ienzo said politely, quirking his eyebrow. "That's odd. For some reason I was led to believe you were trying to _help_ me. I must have been sorely mistaken, apparently."

Kairi, now out of the spell, pleaded, "We _are_ trying to help you!"

"By killing me? I usually wouldn't consider that helpful, but I suppose you get an 'A' for effort. You've been busy, haven't you?" Ienzo kept his voice courteously dubious, a civil smile faintly on his lips.

Sora and Kairi exchanged looks. "We…we _are_ helping. You don't understand: You're going to feel horrible, you'll regret it..."

"But, I thought Nobodies couldn't _feel_…"

They remained silent, surprised, perhaps, by how much he knew.

Ienzo continued calmly. "There are fourteen people on that list of yours. So far, you have failed to 'save' any of them. I doubt your 'Master' is very happy about that."

"Come to think of it…why _do_ you follow his every order? He isn't telling you everything: even _I_ know that."

"Really, now? So, oh Knowledgeable One, what hasn't he been telling us?" a mocking voice asked as its owner entered the clearing.

"Ah, Ri_ku_," Ienzo purred, feigning enthusiasm. "I was hoping you'd come soon. After all, I'm sure it was just a misunderstanding."

"What was?" Riku asked. He was sporting a heavy bruise on both eyes, his lip was still healing from being split, but his nose was, unfortunately, normal. He wouldn't be needing plastic surgery after all.

"Don't you have something to tell your friends, Riku?"

Sora and Kairi's faces immediately shot to Riku's. "What?"

"Go on, Riku. I'm sure they'll _forgive_ you. Isn't that what friends are for?" Ienzo said effortlessly, and he felt his chest tighten at the mention of friends.

Riku remained silent, his eyes glued to Ienzo's face.

"Alright then, _I'll_ tell them." And he pulled out a crumpled piece of paper he'd found on Elaeus' countertop on that fateful day.

He read clearly, "'13) R-O-X-A-S. Minus 'X' equals…'"

He paused briefly, and looked idly at Sora's entranced features.

"'Sora'. Of course, Sora, you probably already knew that, right? I'm sure that was all part of your plan for 'saving the worlds from a terrible fate': sacrificing yourself."

Not a sound was heard as the silence wore on, the only sign of movement in the distantly swaying, up reaching arms of the surrounding, sentinel trees.

"The last name was tricky, of course: there's no 'x' in 'Namine'. But then I thought, 'Hey, wouldn't it only make sense that Kairi became a Nobody, too? After all, she and Sora are joined at the hip, and if _Sora_ was in the situation to become one, wouldn't Kairi be, as well?'"

After another moment of silence, Riku snarled, "You sick bastard…"

Ienzo's polite façade held, and voice was still controlled as he said, "_Me?_ _I _am the sick one? You're the one _killing_ people; _you're _the one carving numbers into their chests."

Riku flinched, and Ienzo continued, his voice remaining cool and unemotional, though inside, he was raging. "I can't believe you could just betray your friends like that. Were you planning to kill _them,_ too, when you got to number thirteen?"

"No." Riku said immediately. "Of course not! I love you guys, you know that…" He turned to his friends.

Sora and Kairi were looking at him, eyes wide.

"Don't blame it all on Riku; Yen Sid was the one who told him, after all," Ienzo added helpfully.

Sora's eyes were filling up with tears. "Riku…how…?

Riku was looking panicked. "_NO_! I swear, I never would have-!"

"When were you planning to tell us?" Kairi asked, part accusingly, part pathetically.

Riku bit his lip. "Look, I'm just as scared as you guys are. I…I was too shocked to say anything. I didn't know how you'd handle it."

"So, you _waited_, and we had to learn this from _him?_" Kairi gestured in Ienzo's direction.

"Why are you even _listening_ to him? You know me, come on! You _know_ I have good intentions; you _know_ how much I care about you!"

"I'm not sure…" Sora said distantly, his eyes wide and empty.

"_Sora_…" Riku pleaded. Sora ignored him and looked instead at Ienzo.

"How did you know?"

Ienzo gestured at the list.

Sora shook his head. "No, I mean, how did you know Riku knew?"

"He told me," Ienzo said, acting deeply remorseful. "I told him to be honest with you, but he was to intent on completing your 'mission'…I probably shouldn't have kept quiet for so long: I've known for a few days. I'm sorry." Ienzo sighed.

Riku sputtered. "You liar! I haven't told you anything!" He turned to Sora. "Don't you understand?! This is what I was telling you about: he's messing with your mind!

Sora's face was stony. "Riku…I…just give me a second to think, okay? I'm not sure…"

Kairi let out a yelp as she pointed towards the trees to her left. A shadow was visible a ways away, glowing eyes watching them uncomprehendingly.

The shadows were starting to rise back out of the forest: apparently Riku hadn't destroyed all of them. Sora and Kairi ran towards the shadows without another word, pulling out their keyblades with a flash of light.

Riku watched them go sadly, and then jerked his face to watch Ienzo's, his expression changing into one of absolute loathing.

"You know, I don't think I've ever hated someone so much."

Ienzo scoffed. "Lovely. Should I feel flattered?" He continued. "Your friends seem to be feeling quite strongly at the moment, too. I wonder if they'll forgive you, someday."

Riku's eyes narrowed. "How would you know anything about friends? The only person who can _stand_ you is a complete and utter idiot who can't tell if someone's insulting him or not."

Ienzo blinked, then gave Riku an indifferent look. "Hm…that's strange, for a second there, I thought you were describing you and Sora's relationship."

Riku stood in shocked silence, and Ienzo continued in his composed manner. "But, it seems like your friends were feeling a bit…deceived. Are you sure they'll come back to you this time, Riku? Do you think you deserve them?"

Riku's stance immediately slumped a bit as he looked sadly into Ienzo's eyes. "No, you don't think that, do you? Someone like you doesn't deserve friends like those; you'll only hurt them, in the end."

"I would know…" Ienzo added softly, and Riku's eyes dropped piteously to the ground.

"Maybe they'll come back…" Riku said, but his voice was feeble, now, lost of all confidence or conviction.

Ienzo quirked his head. "Conceivably, they may. But it would only be prolonging their agony, wouldn't it? You know how it goes; you've _always_ known. Lying to them any longer would only make yourself less deserving, after what you've done."

Riku looked up, his face blank. "Really?"

Ienzo looked away and said, "I can't tell you, can I? Only you know the truth. Look inside yourself; you'll get an answer."

Only the sounds of the wind brushing eerily through the landscape could be heard as Riku mulled silently. Ienzo reveled in it and looked up at the silver, threatening sky, soaking in the breeze and overall _openness_ of it all, not at all used to the sensation.

"No," Riku said suddenly, and Ienzo looked back at him. "No…I don't deserve my friends." Riku was suddenly glaring.

Ienzo's back straightened as he felt a shooting pain suddenly erupt across his lean chest. It took a moment to process what had just happened: Riku, out of rage, had jumped towards him with lightening speed and slashed at him crazily, a manic glint in his greenish eyes.

Ienzo quickly dodged the second attack, and took off for the cover of the woods. Riku's footfalls could be heard, not far behind him.

666

Sora loved the thrill of a fight. As innocent as he may seem at times, the adrenaline rush was like nothing else, and it wasn't like he was attacking humans or animals, or anything. He was attacking _evil_: he was attacking _darkness_. It felt like it just _fit_ the second he had felt his fingers hold the cool metal of the keyblade, almost as if it was habitual.

"On your left," he said to Kairi as she slashed at another Heartless beside him.

Another good thing about fighting? It took your mind off certain things you didn't want to currently think about, like the fact that your best friend just happened to be hiding the fact that you were going to _die_ if this continued.

Ah, crap.

Riku and Sora had known each other since, well, forever. Kairi had joined their circle of friends later, and Sora had _thought_ Riku and he hadn't lost their bond.

Another good thing about fighting? It did amazing things for when you were angry.

sSs

"Heeey…you wanna know something _really_ weird?"

"Sure," Myde said distractedly through the phone receiver as he tried to focus on his English paper that was due…sometime soon.

"You know that girl, Kairi? I think she has a crush on me. Gross, huh? Sheesh, that girl's pathetic…" Lea said.

"Because she, like half the school girl, and even some of the guys, population, likes you?"

"Nah, just sort of creepy. She was writing my name all over her paper the other day."

"Hm..." Myde agreed vaguely, not really listening to Lea's 'middle school girl's gossip' thing he had going on at the moment. Poor Lea; he always found something to talk to in order to talk to _someone_. He would never admit it, but he missed his parents.

"Yeah, that and 'Axel', but I'm not really sure of the significance of that. What kind of name is 'Axel'?" Lea snorted on the other line.

Wait…'Axel'?

"How did she spell it?" Myde asked, the urgency in his voice taking Lea off guard.

"Uhh…Why? 'A-X-E-L'…what's wrong, Myde?"

Myde's heart stopped. "Ohhh…that's _not_ cool…"

989

"_Where are you?!_" Riku yelled in frustration after nearly an hour of searching for the elusive Number Six. He'd failed and that meant only one thing: Kairi and Sora, and him too, probably, would be dead by tomorrow.

He was slowly loosing steam, his anger from before waning until he felt nothing but pure, hard aloneness and guilt. He'd failed…

Ienzo watched him from the safety of a nearby shadow, having been following the enraged teen for the full hour. Riku had chased him for nearly five minutes before he'd been deep enough into the grove to slip away: one of the most irksome five minutes of his life. Stupid Riku and his basketball playing skill requiring stamina.

Riku had now collapsed to the ground, exhausted in more ways then one. Fifteen minutes after Riku had shut his eyes, Ienzo removed himself from his light blanket of darkness and stood over him, glaring at the fallen body with disgust.

"You don't deserve this. Someday, you will return to where you came from," he breathed softly as he picked up a sharp stone and went over to the nearest tree. There, he carved two letters:

'VI,'.

And without a backwards glance, he picked up a large stick and thrust it into the nearby dirt, narrowly missing Riku's oh-so-perfect nose. And then he was gone, as silently as he had come.

r6r

"Ienzooooo…'ZOOOO….? Why aren't you picking up…? I needa talk to you _right now_!" Myde whined into the receiver, having given up on trying not to sound like a teenage girl after leaving his sixth message.

"Heeeey, if you're mad at me or something, I'm sorry!"

The machine beeped, signaling that the message was done, so Myde pressed 'redial' on his phone for what felt like the twentieth time. "Look, I _know_ you're home, so why don't you just pick up?!"

When no one did, Myde glared at the phone and yelled, "You're such a meanie!" then pressed the red button. Hard.

Five minutes later, Myde was feeling bad again, and pressed the redial button for what felt like the twenty-_first_ time. To his surprise, someone answered on the second ring.

"Hello, Fauna speaking?" said the chipper voice on the other end.

"Uhhh…Hi?"

"May I ask who it is?"

"It's Myde, but, is Ienzo home? I've called about fifty times so far and no one's picked up yet!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, dear; I just got home from a few errands." There was a brief pause. "And no, he doesn't seem to be here."

"What? But it's 5 o'clock, shouldn't he have been home by now?"

"Yes, I suppose he should have…oh dear, I hope he's alright, though he's probably just at a friend's house…Poor boy, he's a sweetheart, isn't he?"

Myde stifled a snicker. He didn't feel guilty about laughing; he knew Ienzo would be doing the same thing if he heard that. But then he felt like Lea, laughing at his friend like that, so he said, "Yep, he sure is. In his own way, I guess…"

"Please call if you hear from him?"

"Yeah."

Myde hung up the phone, worry eating at his gut like an invading parasite. Eww…what a gross analogy. Worry was eating at him like…like Myde ate chocolate: really, really fast and effective-like.

Myde stared at the ceiling vacantly. There was nothing he could do now except wait.

Or was there?

Myde sat up abruptly. If Myde were Ienzo, where would he go? Hmm…the library? The bookstore? The park? The doctor? Starbuck's? Mmm…Starbuck's…

Myde mentally berated himself to _focus_. This was _important_. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. Ienzo had a cell phone, which he had already tried calling hundreds of times. If he hadn't called him back yet, either something was wrong, or…something was wrong. Ienzo was OCD, and he was in that _habit_ of leaving his phone on. Besides, Ienzo was always responsible…

At that moment, the phone rang.

Myde lunged for it. "Hey?!"

"Myde."

Myde screeched, (but it was an extremely manly screech, mind you). "Ienzooo! Where've you _been_?! I've been trying to call you for like, an hour!"

"Myde, listen to me," Ienzo's voice was clear as he spoke, but Myde noticed that he was panting slightly. "Stay where you are. I'll be over there as soon as I can, is that okay?"

It wasn't a question, and it's not like Myde would have said 'no', anyway. "Yep!"

Ienzo hung up before Myde could say another word.

696

Ienzo stood outside of Myde's simple, one-story house, eyeing it hesitantly. He hadn't really _looked_ at it in awhile, and doing so brought back memories…

-6-6-6-

"_Ienzo! C'mon, c'mon, c'mon! You're so sllloooww!" Myde whined gleefully as he tugged his smaller friend towards the front door._

_Ienzo was looking up at the house gingerly. He was nervous, though he'd never admit to it. Myde talked about his parents a lot, but still…how could parents actually be _nice,_ like Myde said his were?_

…_1…2…3…4…5…6._

_As they walked through the front door, Myde called out, "HEEEY, WE'RE HOOOOME!"_

_Ienzo stood, shocked. Myde was _yelling_ at his _parents_? He braced himself for what would inevitably be Myde's parent's oncoming fury._

_It never came._

"_Hey, Myde! Is this Ienzo?" a woman said kindly as she entered the entryway from the kitchen. "Hello, there." _

"_Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you," Ienzo cited smoothly, just as he was taught to speak to adults, averting his eyes from hers and ignoring her outstretched hand._

_She frowned slightly and let her arm drop to her side. "Cookies, anyone?"_

_Myde squealed cheerfully. "Didja make 'em?"_

_Myde's mom shook her head. "No, silly, you know I haven't got time for that. But Ms. Gainsborough brought them over today."_

"_Aw, well. She makes great cookies, too," Myde shrugged, happily munching on a chocolate chip cookie._

"_Myde, ask your guest if he wants one, too," Myde's mom reminded him gently, laughing._

_Myde looked down at the cookie jar he had clutched in his grasping hands. He held it out to Ienzo, "Wamft oomes?" he asked merrily through his face full of cookie._

…_1…2…3…4…5…6._

_Ienzo hesitated. He wasn't usually aloud sweets, the last time he'd had them being on his…seventh birthday? Something like that…_

_But being here, with Myde and his yelling, with Myde's mom and her sweetness, and in this old, one story house that looked similar to all the other ones on the street, it made him feel slightly…normal. Like here, _here,_ was what his home should have been like. _

_So he took one. And then he took two. Just because he could._

-6-6-6-

"You're here," Myde smiled from the doorway. "What are you doing, just standing out here? C'mon!"

Ienzo obliged, following Myde into the family room and watching as he plopped himself onto the couch. He sat down, too, after a moment's hesitation.

"Sooo," Myde said, getting right to the point. "Where've you been? That's what this is about, right?"

Ienzo nodded, avoiding Myde's eye. If he saw him face-on, he'd end up telling him everything.

He ended up doing it, anyway, after Myde forced him to look up and caught him with one of his 'looks'. So Ienzo told him everything, sparing only a few minor details.

Ienzo's eyes had averted from Myde's somewhere in the story, and by the time he was finished with it, Ienzo was slightly scared to look up.

Ienzo saw a glimpse Myde's horror-stricken face before he was thrown from the coach.

"MYDE? What the-?!" protested Ienzo as he was wrapped in a huge hug, flinching under the close contact and attempting to slink out from under him. "Let go of me, you kook."

Myde ignored him, only squeezing him harder and burying his head in the crook of Ienzo's neck. "Y-You…Why'd-? I…Gaaahh! You stupid, stupid…!"

And Myde proceeded to yell out stupid for awhile longer, finally ending the sentence with 'meanie!' and then going into a rant about how 'dying was _bad_, Zoey, because that would mean no more Ienzo and Myde would be really, really sad, and how the chocolate in Heaven could _not_ be sampled without Myde tasting it _first_…' and on and on and on…

"Those…those…! I can't even think of a word for them! I'm _so_ kicking Sora off the swim team after this, especially since he didn't show up for practice today! And to think, a few weeks ago I was _begging _him to join…!"

Ienzo felt a warm sensation spread through his chest. What was that feeling? Gratitude? Whatever it was and however uncomfortable he was feeling at the moment, he could help but be glad, _so_ glad, that he had Myde; that Myde considered him a friend, even…

They both ended up falling asleep in the living room; Ienzo on the couch, Myde in the recliner. The TV was still on when Myde's mom got home from work, and she could only shake her head.

Teenagers: Couldn't live with them, and _definitely_ couldn't live without them.

But sometimes, parents were forced to live without them.

696

**End Note: Seeee?? Not a cliffy! –pats self on back- I'm so proud of myself. .**

**Game quotes!!:**

"_**Who is this kook?" Sora about Demyx, KH2**_

**Kudos to you if you caught that one. Kinda tougher than usual.**

**I hope I haven't made too many spelling/grammar mistakes. And if I did, I hope you'll survive. And I deeply apologize if you don't.**

_**Review? For leftover V-day candy (it's classy and tempting and you know it)? …how about for cute little emo!Ienzo?! He needs love! **__****_

_**b9 iNe**_


	10. Chapter X

**Author's Note: Oh. Wow. I am SO sorry this took SO long. Chapter X was being difficult. I seriously had to sit at my comp for forever before I could actually write one sentence. And it's STILL not very long. Again, sorry.**

**But enough about that…**

**Disclaimer: I don't own KH or any of the FF characters I might throw in randomly. (As you can tell, I just about out of creativeness right now).**

Chapter X

It's amazing, really, that Lea hadn't gotten expelled yet. Y'know the whole 'underwear on the flagpole' prank that's become a sort of cliché? Yeah, totally his idea. If only he'd gotten a copyright on it when he was eight; he would've been _rolling_ in cash by now. Heck, he would be _burning_ some of the excess bills he would have had lying around, just because he could.

"HEEEY! I'm HOOOOOME!" Reno's voice yelled out from the living room. Lea glared at his Chemistry book, cursing Albert Einstein or whoever the hell had invented it. Wait, was that God? Oh, scratch that last one…

"Lea….Hellllooo…?"

Lea spun around in his swivel chair to face the tall, smirking figure leaning in his doorway. "Aren't you happy to see me, little bro?"

"Just delighted," Lea snapped. "So, what'd you do this time?"

"Aww…such a _sweet_ little brother I have. So filled with _love_ and _politeness_…" Reno said silkily.

"Cut the crap, Reno. Did you get fired? Why're you home early?" Lea asked, his voice sodden with annoyance.

"Fired? Nahh…'course not. I just happened to be super efficient today."

"In sucking up? I'll bet you were."

Reno whacked the back of Lea's head. "_No_. Jeez, where's your family pride? Anyways, I just wanted to tell you I'm goin out later, m'kay? Elena and Rude are meeting me at Seventh Heaven." He smirked. "See? I'm such a caring older brother-"

"Right. Buh-bye now," Lea said offhandedly as he spun around in his chair, seeing only a flash of bright red hair whenever he sped past Reno.

_There's nothing to _do Lea complained several hours later. Reno had left only awhile ago. The sun had just set, and the pinky trails of its passage were still smeared across the sky. Lea glared at the phone.

Where _was_ everyone tonight?

Thinking of nothing else, Lea padded off to the living room and turned on the small TV. Nothing good was on, so he left it at one of those Spanish Soap Operas. Of course, he had no idea what they were saying, (hey, it's not like he failed Spanish Class because the teacher was unfair), but it was still quite amusing watching the bad acting skills.

He rubbed the back of his neck, frowning. What was wrong with him? He _never_ had trouble with boredom. Hell, _no one_ had a problem with boredom when they were around him. He _disintegrated _boredom to ashes. Yet here he was, sitting on his couch and staring at the phone, like some tween-aged girl waiting for her lifelong crush to call her.

And just like that, the phone rang.

"Yo, Bastion's Pizza, where the best is always a few doors down. How can I help you toda…night?"

"Wha-? Uhh…never mind. I must've dialed the wrong number."

Lea quirked his head and said deliberately into the receiver, "Sora? Is that you?"

888

Myde sat at his computer later that night; Ienzo and he had woken up only awhile ago, and he stared blearily at the bright screen. "Whadd'r we doin' agains?"

Ienzo sighed, exasperated that Myde was so _deaf_ when he was tired. "Do you know how to use the Internet, Myde?"

Myde's stared at him, his wide, dazed eyes blank. "'Course I do. Is there anyone who _doesn't_?"

"Look up Yen Sid."

Myde pouted. "Why can't yoooouuu? I'm tired."

Ienzo simply gave Myde a blank look. Myde resigned and brought up the browser.

After a brief moment, he said, "Ughh…some biography on him. You read it, Zo, my eyes are all droopy."

"'_Ien_zo', Myde," Ienzo muttered, but sat down all the same. Myde happily stood up and plopped himself onto his bed.

_Graduating from Fantasia University with a Doctorate in Sociology, Astronomy, and History, 'Master' Yen Sid is one of the world's most respected phenomenons. He lives alone, though his specific whereabouts are unknown, and his hobbies include collecting broomsticks and teaching mice to do tricks…_

It continued with Yen Sid's birth place and family tree, but the biography was surprisingly short for 'one of the world's most respected phenomenon'. By the end of it, Ienzo was getting the feeling that Yen Sid wrote it himself; he _did_ seem like the type to give himself so much praise.

"Anything new?" Myde asked from his vantage point on the bed after a few more minutes of Ienzo looking up other less-bias sites. He turned around to see that Myde's eyelids were still soundly shut.

"No, nothing really, except that he's certifiably crazy. Did you know he claims to have been some sort of sorcerer in his past life?" Ienzo asked dryly.

Myde's laugh was slightly nasal but still strangely pleasant as he snickered amusedly. "I'm not surprised; I've seen him before, y'know, and he kinda reminded me of one of those creepy pedophiles that are on the News sometimes. His eyes are like, seriously disturbing."

"There's not much else; nothing we could use, that is…" Ienzo finished, agreeing with Myde internally.

"Wait, why can't we just go to the police?" Myde asked, sitting up and looking at Ienzo with wide eyes.

"Because," Ienzo started, "a) they will think we are insane, and b) regardless of this, they would not do anything to Sora, Riku, and Kairi; they'll just say they were blackmailed into it, or something."

"But…weren't they? I mean, what they're doing is horrible, but when you really think about it…" Myde trailed off, still seeming not sure of his own words.

"They deserve worse," Ienzo stated coldly. "After what happened to Elaeus…"

"But," Myde started again, "it's not like we can do anything…I mean; would we? Are we really that heartless?"

Ienzo shrugged.

"C'mo_oooo_n, Ienzo, quit bein' so prideful, for once, so we can go to the police. It's not over yet…" Myde pleaded as he stood up and walked over to the door. "I know one of the officers; we can ask for him and everything. I think he knows lots of stuff already, so it won't be as hard to explain and all that…" Were Myde's eyes always so big?

And just like that, Ienzo reluctantly got up and left with Myde.

It was amazing, really, how persuasive Myde could be without even realizing it. Or, perhaps, Ienzo just had a soft spot for him.

969

"Sora, is that you?"

"Whaa-? Who _is _this?"

Lea grinned, confused, but still enjoying the fact that he was now talking to someone and _they_ called _him_ first, thankyouverymuch. "Didn't I just ask that question?"

There was a brief silence. "Yep, this is Sora! Oh, get a grip, Riku! I can say whatever I want; _my_ phone, remember?" A distant snort of protest could be heard on the other side of the line. Lea waited, growing slightly impatient.

"So, how's it goin'? Riku over there, too?"

"Yep, but shhh…don't let him hear you talk about him. He's really paranoid these days." There was a hint of resentment in Sora's usually optimistic tone. Then, he added, as though having to explain Riku's presence, "We have a project to finish. Due tomorrow. We're procrastinators."

"Ahh…so you have 'it', too. And there Ms. Tifa was, trying to convince me I was the only one."

"…What?"

Lea grinned, strangely amused. Sure, Sora was kinda clueless, but it was strangely refreshing. And that was coming from one of Myde's friends.

"Wait, who is this again? You never said your name…" There was an audible, snappish remark coming from Sora's end as he finished his question.

"It's Lea. L-E-A. Commit it to memory. And tell Riku to 'shut the hell up', will you?"

Sora giggled nervously. "Right…"

"So, what's up?"

"Oh, right. I was just wondering it…Z-I mean _Ienzo_, was with you."

"Emo boy?" Lea smirked. "Nope, he's not, _unfortunately_. Gee, I sure do miss his clever little remarks. I haven't seen him in, what, four hours?"

"Wow, you guys are really good friends, aren't you?" Sora asked earnestly, obviously not catching Lea's mockery.

Lea couldn't help but burst out laughing at that. "Heh..._Sure, _kid, I guess you could say that."

Sora was silent, and Lea was suddenly caught wondering if he had somehow offended Sora, (not that he really cared, but it wouldn't have been the first time).

"Thanks anyway, I guess. Hey, do you know where Ienzo could be?"

Lea was suddenly overcome with nervousness, though why, he had no clue. Except, perhaps…Why was Sora suddenly so interested in Ienzo? Wasn't he a little too…dismal to be Sora's type? Of course, he had thought that about Myde, too, and _that_ had landed him as the third wheel.

Wow, where did all this self-pity come from?

"He's prob'ly with Myde," Lea said after only a moment's hesitation.

Sora thanked him and hung up immediately, and, again, a wave of suspicion crossed over Lea, but he pushed it to the back of his mind. What, it's not like Ienzo couldn't deal with his problems; besides, what was wrong with a little revenge, if Sora's intentions _weren't _good?

888

Sora hung up the phone, making sure to avoid Riku's eye. "He said he's at Myde's house."

Sora could hear Riku shifting around in his chair. "Oh."

The silence was heavy and dense, the first that had ever come over Riku and Sora during conversation.

"So…we gonna call him?" Sora asked finally, unable to stand the silence any longer. He still couldn't manage to muster up any enthusiasm, though, and he knew Riku saw right through his façade: he'd always been a bad liar.

Well, so what? It wasn't _his_ problem…

"I guess..." Riku muttered dully.

Sora looked up. Sure, his friend had never been too expressive, especially not recently. Cocky? Most definitely. But he didn't show his emotions like Sora did; didn't wear them on his sleeve, that is.

So, to most people, Riku's tone wouldn't be that unusual. To Sora, however, that had known Riku his whole life, it was torturous.

His friend was _hurting_. How could he be hurting him? …It was Riku's fault; not Sora's. It wasn't Sora's problem. He should just let him wallow in his misery; Riku deserved it.

Sora was a horrible liar. Even when lying to himself.

"Look," Sora said slowly, catching Riku's downtrodden eyes for the first time in what seemed like months, "I…I'm sorry."

Riku's face remained the same, but his eyes were suddenly changed. "No…Why are you sorry? It…This is entirely my fault…I'M the sorry one."

Sora quirked his head. "Really?" He was suddenly smiling, but then it was gone as quickly as it had come. "This is _Yen Sid's_ fault, that's whose fault it is."

That was it. Sora had finally sorted out all his thoughts and realized the truth. They shouldn't be blaming anyone but Yen Sid. Riku had messed up. _Badly_. But that was it. He'd _messed up_. It was unintentional. Why had he let himself get so _mad_? How could he have believed that Riku _wanted_ to hurt them? They were _friends_.

Sora then was suddenly suffocating.

"Sora…" Riku's voice sounded sad. "Sora, your too naïve. This was _me_, all me. How could I have let you get into all this? It was stupid…"

After Riku finally let go, Sora said, surprised, "Silly Riku, what's wrong with you? People make mistakes. Let it go, 'kay?"

Riku wasn't complying. "I messed up. _So_-"

"_Riku._"

It was Kairi. She stood in the doorway, her smooth face framed by her long, auburn hair. Her dark blue eyes were surveying them kindly, but her tone was serious.

"Riku, Sora and I forgive you, remember? It really wasn't that big a deal; we were just…surprised, I guess. But you _have_ to stop being so hard on yourself. It's not healthy."

"Right," Sora piped in. "We can fix this, _all _this."

Riku looked up, seeming surprised by Sora's words. Kairi did too, for that matter.

"This whole time, we've been trying to get rid of the 'villains'. But," he paused here, trying to find the right words, "but, they haven't really…_done_ anything, have they?"

"No," Kairi said slowly, catching on. "It's because of what they'll do, what they _won't _have."

"So, all this time, we've been fighting for the wrong cause. Are people villains just because someone _says_ they are? Isn't the person _accusing_ them more of a villain?"

"We _had_ to, if you remember correctly," Riku snapped.

Kairi shook her head. "No, we didn't." She headed for the doorway as she said, "We should have gone to the police a long time ago."

Sora turned to look at Riku. "C'mon."

Riku was looking hesitant. "Right, have fun."

"Ri-_ku_…"

"No, Sora, _you _listen. If you go to the police, they'll lock you up. They'll think you're _insane_. And if they _didn't _think you were insane, they'd lock you up, anyway, for attempted murder. It'll ruin your life; _both_ your lives."

Kairi turned slowly, but it was Sora who spoke first. "It's the best we can do, for now." He suddenly smiled sheepishly. "Besides, I wouldn't predict anything; you never know what could happen."

Lying wasn't Sora's forte, but, luckily for Riku, optimism was.

SKR

Ais hated solicitors. Especially Girl Scouts. And magazine salesmen. _And_ those people who asked if 'you REALLY loved God'. Not to be picky, or anything.

So, imagine his distaste when a stranger knocked on his door. It wasn't his one of his neighbors, (apparently they were too scared of him to even look him in the eye), family members, (they stayed away, too, come to think of it), etc, etc. So, he concluded that the girl now standing on his doorstep was a solicitor, and therefore hated her on sight. A Girl Scout, probably, and though it was probably wrong, (maybe even unpatriotic), to hate a Girl Scout, Ais was beyond caring at this point.

And after the seventh ring, well, let's just say he was getting a bit upset.

"Yes?" he asked in his usual calm voice and polite face as he wrenched open his door after nearly a minute of imagining the poor girl's gruesome death.

She crossed her arms and said sassily, "Not interrupting anything, am I?"

Ais' lip twitched dangerously, but his face remained eerily calm. "No."

She smiled sweetly, cobalt eyes flashing. "Glad to hear it. Now, I was wondering if-"

"I'm not interested," he said as he shoved the door closed. Stupid Girl Scout and her cookies…

There was a shove on the other side of the door, and Ais lost his balance in surprise. Girl Scout, apparently, had shoved her foot into the doorframe, preventing him from completely closing the door. She giggled lightly.

"I wasn't finished," she chirped. She opened the door completely again. "My name is Arlene. I'm a senior at my high school, and we're saving money for out class trip. I was wondering if you would like to-"

Ais resisted the urge to snarl at the girl, (who was actually _did_ look around eighteen once he got a good look at her, (well she _was_ rather short)), as he snapped out, "_I told _youI'm_ not _interested_."_

"I. Wasn't. Finished," she said through gritted teeth as she lithely slipped into his house and grabbed the front of his shirt. He stared at her through golden eyes, shocked at her boldness.

When he recovered from his surprise, his eyes narrowed. "And _I_," his fingernails dug into her shoulders, "don't _care_. Now _get out_." And he shoved her backwards onto his front porch and promptly slammed the door before she could protest any further.

After only a few brief moments of quiet satisfaction, however, the calm was shattered with a bloodcurdling scream.

12712

**End Notes: …I hope you don't hate me right now. **

**Chapter X: You'd think there'd be a Rould or Luord or…or Durlo. Yeah, I like that one. XP Sorry, out of creativeness, remember? Meh, whatever. Luxord's not really my favorite, (…sorry?).**

**Regarding Grammar/Spelling mistakes: please don't get too worked up over them. I promise they won't kill you. Probably. **

…_**Review? It'll get the next chapter out faster…?**_

_**I dare you **_**not** _**to. :P (reverse psychology, anyone?)**_

_**b9 iNe**_

_**(sorry. No game quotes this chapter. I know, you're so disappointed.)**_


	11. Chapter XI

**Author's Note: Hello! –waves- it's kinda been awhile, no? Oops, I'm sorry! I'm so bad with updates! The thing is, I wanted to make a loooong chapter this time, so it took me awhile to write it, what with school and all. –classic excuse- XD**

**Seriously, though, this is a pretty long chapter. **

**Anyways, I hope you like it.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any of the random FF7 characters I might throw in. They are the property of Square Enix, (there, happy? I gave a real disclaimer this time). **

Chapter XI

_It was a beautiful day outside; bright and sunny, the sky as blue as a robin's egg and clouds that seemed to have formed themselves overzealously into cotton-y puffs. If only the birds were chirping, then it would have been a scene straight from a movie. _

"_So…Whadoyou wanna do today?"_

"…"

"_...Yanno, Myde, your new friend isn't very talkative."_

"_Or, perhaps I'm just thinking about what I want to do, rather than spewing out the first thing that comes to mind."_

"_Yeah, well, at least _I'm _interesting. And awesome. _You,_ on the other hand…"_

_Myde interrupted before Ienzo could fire back a retort. "Look, guys, how 'bout we go t' my house and play _Sitar Hero_? We still haven't beaten it on 'Expert' yet…"_

_Ienzo's cobalt eyes narrowed infinitesimally and Lea shot him a subtle smirk, emerald eyes sparkling with smugness. _

_Lea turned to Myde and said, "'t's only 'cause you guys skipped me on my last turn. I would've done it…"_

_Myde snickered lightly and the two boys continued to banter teasingly as they meandered from the school entrance towards the bus. Ienzo stood in their wake, watching their, (_unjustly_), tall forms wander away from him. _

_Ienzo observed the surrounding crowd of kids, (no, NOT forlornly), telling himself that he should have known; Lea had been Myde's friend the longest. _

_Many things had third wheels, _necessary_ third wheels, like wheelbarrows and tricycles..._

"_HURRY UP, 'Zoey!" _

_Ienzo had never been happier to hear that infernal nickname._

…_That's_ what found memories told him. Once, he was just happy to hear Myde calling his name. Now? Well, a part of him wished he'd shut up.

"…And so, I told Tidus, 'No, I'm not letting you on the swim team just 'cause your name has to do with water'! So I made him try out anyway, and he made it easily. It would've been a better story if he hadn't, but he's pretty good and I think that with some practice, we might have a chance of beating-"

"You're going the wrong way," Ienzo said stiffly from his vantage point in the passenger seat.

"Oops. My bad. Sorry, I know you hate it when I start rambling like that," Myde commented apologetically.

"Turn there," Ienzo instructed without responding.

Myde turned the car into the near-empty parking lot of the local Police Station and parked. The teenagers stepped out of the car cautiously, (well, Myde hopped, more like), and went into the door marked 'Entrance'.

"You again?" the dark-haired man at the front desk asked teasingly.

Myde blushed. "Heh…Hey, there."

"Who's your friend?"

Ienzo stopped his quiet intake of the room, (one exit, one door into unknown area, tidy but outdated, plenty of light), and focused his attention on the speaker, another man who had just walked into the room.

"Hi, Squall! This is Ienzo."

"Hey, I'm Zack," the first man, the one at the front desk, said lazily, mock saluting, as he leaned back in his chair.

"It's _Leon_," the second man glared, gray eyes flashing. Myde seemed to shrink behind Ienzo, (who was feeling rather amused: so, he wasn't the only one with a name that Myde seemed unable to say correctly?).

"_Squaaaalll_, did you bring me back any doughnuts?" whined a third officer, a short, leggy woman with chin-length black hair.

Leon sighed. "No, Yuffie."

"Aww…Why not!"

"Because," Zack interrupted, "he knows what happens when you get sugar."

Yuffie's eyes narrowed briefly, but at the sight of a certain blond/brown-ish headed sitarist she said, "HEEEY, MYDE! What's up?"

Ienzo resisted the urge to rub his temples, feeling a headache coming on.

…_1…2…3…4…5…6. _

969

Ais was…_hesitant_ to open the door. Of course, if he'd been a kind and caring person, or even something close to that, the sound of someone screaming would immediately bring forth a certain wave of worry for said distressed person, even if they were a stranger, and most would try and help in any way they could.

Ais wasn't that person.

He was more of the type of person to shut the door in Distraught's face and listen to them shriek as they were torn to pieces.

…Regardless, that's not what he told them when he was interviewing for his job as a surgeon at the local hospital. They might not have liked that certain detail. 

But, even so, Ais still felt a wave of curiosity as to why that sadistic not-Girl-Scout, (Arlene, was it?), had suddenly started crying out in obvious horror. 

So, cautiously, Ais opened the door a crack and brought his tawny eyes up to it. 

The sight was surprising, to say the least.

The blonde Girl Sc-, _Arlene_, was kicking at something. Puppies, probably, (Ais glared at the thought; he _liked _puppies). However, when he opened the door a bit more, (to save the poor puppy from its eminent death), he saw that she was actually hitting…

A man. A _blonde_ man. With a goatee. And piercings.

…

…_Okay, then, that's enough for today, I think,_ Ais thought as he made to close the door.

"Wait!" the man called out, his voice refined, but still strangely desperate. "I was wondering if you would like to-"

"_NO," _Ais hissed loudly as he slammed his door. 

What was this? Some weird, foreign sex movie? _'Watch Blondes Beat Each Other Up'?_

Or, perhaps…

What was it with solicitors? 

12710

Arlene continued her onslaught of kicks aimed at the cringing Brit, even after the psychotic blue-haired man had closed his door.

"Ex- Excuse m- COME OFF IT, will you!" he struggled to shout as she kicked him, (hard), in the ribs. 

"You. Will. Not. Take. Away. My. Customers. _Damn it!_" she roared suddenly as Piercings grabbed her foot and pushed her away.

"Look, girly, I don't know what your problem is, but it's obviously something that needs serious help. Perhaps I could refer you to the nearest mental hospital…"

Arlene screeched in rage and lunged.

Durlo had had enough experience with women to know when to run. This was no exception. 

When he'd reached safety, (a full four blocks away), he stopped, breathless. Honestly, that was one of the oddest things that had ever happened in his life. And that was saying something. 

_Durlo parked his car and started to walk eastward towards Moon Ave, one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in town. After ten blocks, he'd finally arrived at what he was looking for: the biggest house on the street._

_Lottery tickets weren't really reserved for the elite, of course, but Durlo knew from experience that, usually, the more money one had, the more money would be willing to spend. _

_And who wouldn't appreciate a Lottery ticket salesman coming to their front door? And they even charged a 'discount' price, (only ten percent more than it had originally cost, rather than thirty percent)! What wasn't to love?_

_Predictably, however, some other salesman had already beaten him to the punch, as he saw when he had gotten closer up the front walk. A short blonde man was already schmoozing with his potential customer? No, that wouldn't do. _

_So, when the owner of the house slammed the door in the salesman's face for the second time, Durlo made his move. He snuck up behind him and attempted to 'slip' in front._

_That was when he'd found out that the 'salesman' was actually a 'saleswoman', (they _had_ looked rather curvy, he had to admit, and how could he have distinguished from behind when they were wearing jeans and a sweat-shirt and had short hair?)._

Durlo sighed as he, (finally), reached his car. Well, that had certainly been an ordeal. Honestly, right now, he could use a drink.

101010

Awkward silences were a foreign thing when around Sora. So, by extent, they were also something that Riku and Kairi weren't familiar with, seeing as they were with Sora nearly all the time, as best friends usually had a habit of doing.

The quiet that now hung over the car, however, was something that surpassed even awkward silences in the level its level of discomfited-ness: it was foreboding.

They had only a vague idea of what would come, and each passing thought that ran through the three's head was portraying a worse outlook than the last.

_Kairi watched in mind-numbing horror as Riku and Sora were dragged off into a cold, hard cell, the door clanging behind them with an eerie echo that seemed distant, yet so, _so_ final._

Kairi brought her manicured hands to her face, smooth, perfect fingers clenched. This was her idea; how could she tell them she was scared?

_The white of the padded, stark walls of the room was all that was reflected in Sora's saucer-like blue, blue eyes. He was alone, no one to talk to, no one to laugh with. No one. _

Sora shuddered and clutched his stomach impulsively, his lip quivering tremulously. No, no, no…

_Black, black, black, with glowing yellow eyes that were still there even after Riku closed his. They had them cornered, bloodied and bruised, but still fighting they were: even when they were finally consumed by shadows, Riku never stopped. _

Riku's knuckles were turning white as he clasped the steering wheel in his vice-like grip. They'd talked him into this, and he'd agreed, but he could just as easily walk out, couldn't he? His friends' lives were more important…

He'd already mechanically pulled into the parking lot before he could attempt to turn around.

"Uhh…" Riku stalled, his voice higher than usual. 

"Let's go." The voice had come from Kairi, stronger and clearer than what would be expected. Wait, hadn't she just been in the back seat clutching her head?

Before anyone could protest, she'd grabbed Sora's tanned arm and tugged him out of the car with surprising strength, starting to head towards the entrance. Riku hesitated as he stepped through his door, but he couldn't let his friends go alone.

SKR

After nearly fifteen minutes, five of which had consisted of Myde and Yuffie talking, most of the story had already been told. 

"So," Leon started slowly, "you were right, Myde."

Myde blushed and smiled in spite of himself. Ienzo, however, looked skeptical.

"He was?"

Zack laughed genially at this, and even Leon managed a small smirk.

Myde glared in mock anger, snorting. "Psh, why'd you sound so surprised?"

"Myde actually came to us yesterday afternoon," Zack explained. "He was rather…distressed. He mentioned about how the murderer was looking for you, or something. He was kind of difficult to understand, actually."

Before anyone could react any further, however, the front door opened to reveal three very nervous figures.

96PD

"Lumaria, get the door, will you?"

"Why? It isn't even my house?"

"And your point is?"

"…"

"You're closer to it."

"By like two steps!"

"Still closer."

Lumaria scoffed and cursed under his breath as he stood up from his comfortable position on the couch. "Someday, you'll regret being so lazy.

"Someday, you'll regret being so uptight and bossy. Honestly, you remind me of a chick sometimes."

Lumaria glared at Lea, but went to get the door, regardless. 

"What?" Lumaria snapped, annoyed, ("Be nice, Lumaria! Remember what I said about not scaring away any visitors with your wonderful personality?" Lea called from the other room).

"Hello there, miss. Perhaps I could interest you in some-?"

Lumaria slammed the door shut in the blonde, polished-looking man's face before he could finish his sentence, ("Really now, twice in one day?" Durlo complained idly to the now-closed door).

As he stalked back into the living room, Lea looked up from his lax position in front of the TV. 

"Who was it?"

"Creepy egotistic pedophile," Lumaria shot back, not mentioning that the person had mistaken him of being a _girl_.

"Who, me, or the person at the door?" Lea questioned with surprising calmness.

Still sensing a fight and currently not feeling up to arguing with Lea after his ego had taken such a severe hit, Lumaria overcame the temptation of saying 'both' and simply decided not to answer. 

Lea shrugged. "Whatever. Hey, you know where Myde went today?"

8118

Ienzo stared at the three teens now occupying the doorframe with quiet contempt, though, inside, he was raging.

Myde voiced said feelings. "YOU BASTARDS!" he bellowed, pointing a tanned finger at the newcomers.

Leon stepped in quickly. "Myde, settle down."

"No, I. Will. Not. Who do they think they are, doing-?" 

"W-wait," Kairi spoke, her voice shaking only slightly. She brought her hands to emphasize her point. "Listen, I-I know what you're thinking, but, I-_we_, swear, we're here to turn ourselves in."

Ienzo's left arm crossed his thin chest and his right hand was put into a fist, pointer finger resting on his cool lips, the epitome of calm calculation. His voice was intense and cool, but no more than usual, he was glad to think. "Really, now? So, what exactly are you saying? You know you're going to get caught so you're turning yourself in, or that you actually want to help?"

Kairi was caught off guard by Ienzo's severity, and was unable to respond immediately. 

"We want to help you," Riku said before Kairi could even open her mouth. "Well, maybe not _you_, specifically…" he muttered as an afterthought.

Ienzo's eyes narrowed.

"Help?" Yuffie asked, stating the obvious. "You want to _help_? But…weren't you just out there killing people?"

Ienzo laughed dryly, (Leon gave him a warning glare), but Myde explained as best he could. He seemed to have gotten over his initial shock, though he still wasn't looking Riku, Sora, or Kairi in the eye. 

The air was tense as Myde finished his brief summary. Two sides, two small groups of best friends, looked at each other, and the Police officers stood back to watch, currently declaring themselves neutral, apparently.

It seemed like hours before someone that they stood in silence, and by then, the primary high tension atmosphere had faded to a dull throb of unease.

"Forgive us?" Kairi asked, her voice soft and sweet and strangely natural sounding in spite of what might have been felt subsequent to one speaking after a long moment of quiet. 

"Why are you asking me?" Myde's voice was uncharacteristically melancholy. "You should be asking him." His arm moved from his side to rest on his friend's shoulder.

Kairi refused to look Ienzo in the eye and it didn't go unnoticed. 

"What's wrong, _Kairi_, why won't you look at him?" Myde's voice was quiet but there was a strange…_mocking_ edge to it, something Ienzo had never expected to hear.

She slumped over and held her face in her hands, mumbling something incoherent to all except Riku.

"Something's weird about him," Riku agreed in a whisper. "It's like, you can't help but believe whatever he says…" 

"Perhaps you're just gullible," Ienzo snapped, not appreciating being talked about as if he weren't in the room. "And that's beside the point."

Riku looked up daringly into Ienzo's cobalt eyes, the signature stereotype of teenage defiance. "Is it? Weren't we just discussing apologies?" He scoffed. "I don't understand why someone like you can even imagine deserving an apology. You're abnormal and rude and-"

Myde snapped. He lunged at Riku, and the rest of the room, (including Riku), could only watch in shock as the two teenage boys tumbled to the carpeted floor.

"Take it back," Myde snarled, his voice dangerously low and his hands clutching the front of Riku's blue polo shirt.

Leon was the first to react. He pulled Myde off of Riku and dragged him to his feet.

"Act your age," Leon reprimanded. "Honestly, kid, where's your brain? You just physically assaulted someone _inside_ a Police Station."

Myde huffed and muttered something, but a faint blush was starting to appear on his tanned face.

"He's not schizophrenic, I swear," Ienzo voiced dryly, saving Myde from having to answer. "And this is ridiculous."

Riku was about to retaliate when Kairi cut in. "Yes, it is. We have the same intentions here; we should be trying to help each other."

"Not trying to tear each other apart," agreed Sora with a look in the general direction of Myde. Thankfully, Myde stayed calm this time. 

Forgetting someone's past actions and attempting to talk normally was harder than it sounded. 

And forgiveness, even temporary, was a hard thing to order one's self to partake in.

Moments passed without a word being spoken. Again, the silence was tense, but it was heavier this time. Somehow, it seemed a significant turning point, like it would tip the scale one way or another; either they would keep fighting until they were all 'torn to pieces', or they would find a way to move on, if only for a little while.

Ienzo and Riku's eyes met in the intensity, and, for once, Riku's eyes did not narrow at the action. No, in fact, they looked slightly curious. '_What are you?'_ he seemed to be thinking.

If only Ienzo could answer that himself.

But…_perhaps_ things weren't as bad as they seemed. _Perhaps_ forgiving was a human instinct just as much as running-when-scared and talking-when-lonely was. _Perhaps_…but probably not.

Humans are programmed to survive, right? And forgiving someone intent on killing you doesn't classify as 'healthy'…

But, _perhaps_, it didn't matter. 

"So," Yuffie finally said, "what's the plan?"

96R

**End Note: AAAAnnd stop. There, that wasn't too painful, was it? Not a cliffy, anyways. **

**And about 'Durlo'…personally, I think it's kinda a funny name, but it's growing on me. XD And it's really fun to say.**

**Ahh…well. I hope you enjoyed it, and if there were any grammar/spelling mistakes, I'm sorry. Y'know, I wish Microsoft Word actually corrected me in the right places rather than correcting me constantly for 'fragment, consider revising' or that 'Lumaria' is actually 'Umbra' …and, did you know that the word 'Zexion' has the 'correction' 'Lexicon'? That's his weapon! Lol. There's also 'Sexing', but we won't go there…**

**Wow, I tend to ramble. **

**On a side note, have any of you seen 'Horton Hears a Who!'? Lol, I'm only mentioning it because Roxas' voice, Jesse Mcartney, is the voice of the emo!who. Somehow, I found that hilarious. **

_**Anyways, Reviews? Puh-lease? If you don't I'll sic angrymotherhen!Myde on you! XP**_

_**b9 iNe **_


	12. Chapter XII

Chapter XII

**Author's Notes: Hello. –waves- Ehh…The only excuse I have this time is…I was on Spring Break? –shrugs- And I had to tear myself away from all the awesome fanfics out there to actually write. And I tried to write a longer chapter this time. I hope you like it.**

**Disclaimer: I in no way own any of these characters. **

Chapter XII

"What do you suppose they are doing now?"

"_Gosh, I'm not sure…"_

"They haven't made contact with me for awhile…"

"_Give 'm time, they're prob'ly just busy."_

"I suppose you're right."

"_Look, I don't mean to sound rude, but do you think this is right? What they're doin' and all?"_

Yen Sid's eyes narrowed. The two-foot-tall mouse in front of him seemed to shrink away slightly, but its shoulders still held their proud pose.

"There are some people, King Mickey," Yen Sid said slowly after a stony pause, "that believe, it's true, that what we are doing is wrong. However, these people fail to look at the bigger picture. How were we all made? By God, Evolution, or something else? Regardless, is there any sign in the history of this world that Nothing, the very essence of lifelessness, was or should be embodied? It's not _natural_, it's not_ right_."

"It is correct that a human life is something to be savored, something that is precious and should be conserved at all cost. However, those who _pretend_ to be humans, those who _mock _us with their very appearance, are no more than filth.

"It's disturbing, quite frankly. It would be faulty to expect one to make no mistakes, but none are at greater liability than these 'Nobodies'. They receive sympathy simply because they appear human, and yet, if they took on the appearance of what they really were, people would not think twice about disposing of them.

"It is a direct example that appearances can be illusory. These 'Nobodies', they play with our emotions, they quarry with our hearts. They use them against us. Just because one appears to be human does not mean it deserves to be. In fact, it deserves nothing. Because it _is_ nothing. Whether or not the 'no-things' appear to appreciate being sent back to where they belong is irrelevant.

"And then there's the fact that they can't even _savor _the rebirth they've been given. They'll never get old, they'll never die…if they aren't killed, that is. It's a direct scorn to us, their very non-existence. They're everything on the outside that we wished we were…and then they teach us not to act human."

The mouse-king, Mickey, closed its large eyes halfway through the sorcerer's rant and lowered its head, round ears drooping in defeat. After he was done it said, _"If you say so…"_

Yen Sid's mouth sneered in a positively twisted manner. "That's right, _your Majesty_. No one can see you, can they? No one but me." He breathed contentedly. "You'll understand…eventually. You'll understand…"

MMYSMM

Sora thought distantly, in that vague way you sometimes get, that he must be dreaming. Of course, listing off _why_ he thought he must be dreaming would require logic and thinking, which, of course, were not something common in dreams.

Besides, those weren't exactly Sora's strong points.

"Hello," Sora asked his reflection, "who're you?"

Reflection smirked slightly, but his blue eyes were sad.

"I'm Sora, who are you?" Sora repeated, enunciating slower this time.

Reflection stared intently into Sora's eyes, his smile fading into a remote expression of remorse.

"_Where's Axel?"_

Sora blinked. "Axel? Is that your name?"

"No._ I asked where he was. And you don't need to talk slowly. I'm probably faster than you are, no offense."_

Sora huffed. Why was Reflection giving him an attitude? And what did _speed_ have to do with any of this?

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Sora said primly, still feeling put off.

"_Yes you do."_

"No," Sora shook his head, still skeptical of Reflection's mental power, "I really don't. Isn't an 'axel' a car-part? Sorry, I don't know anything about cars; I'm kinda dangerous around-"

"_It's a person, Sora. You've heard the name before, think."_

Sora internally pouted. Didn't Reflection know that thinking wasn't something you did in dreams? At this rate, he'd wake up and only get, like, eight hours of sleep…

"Eight…OH! 'Axel' was the eighth name on the list."

Reflection was silent as Sora pondered this. "Wait, how did you know that?"

"_Axel and I are best friends."_

"Really? So you know who he really is? I think Kairi said something about that, but y'know…"

Reflection glared. _"I just wondered if you knew…but I guess…it's gone now."_

"What's gone?"

"_My world. I've faded from Sora's memories…now I'm in yours, whoever 'you' are. I wonder, when you forget me, will I disappear completely? Or will I go to some other place…? It's strange really; I didn't know…I mean…" _

Sora was confused in more ways than one, so he asked the first thing that came to mind. "Huh? But, I don't know who you are…"

Reflection half-smirked again. _"Of course you don't."_

"Sooo…what's your name?"

"_Roxas," _Roxas said, running his hand through his spiky blonde hair. And then, as if enjoying some inside joke, he added, _"Commit it-"_

_13_S_13_

"_-to memory."_

Lea collapsed onto his bed, rubbing his temples angrily. Headaches. Sucked.

"_You listening? I. Asked. What. The. Hell's. Happening."_

"Shut up!" Lea told the voice heatedly. Maybe…No; hearing voices in your head would prob'ly be classified as crazy. Damn.

"_Feeling touchy, are we? Well, at least you can-"_

"Damn it! I'm _not_ crazy! Stop talking to me!" Lea slammed his head against the wall as a last resort.

The voice laughed amusedly, and Lea felt his fists clenching in frustration. And damn it, his head hurt even more now…

"_So, you going to answer me?"_

Lea scoffed, not going to let Voice think it won. "Answer what?"

"_Where am I?"_

"In my head. Lucky you; people have been trying to do that for years."

"_Somehow, I'm not surprised."_

Lea sneered. "Who are you?" Well, as long as he was imagining someone was there, might as well know their name, right?

"_I told you already, I'm Axel."_

"Axel? That's a stupid name."

Axel snorted and muttered something unintelligible.

"Hark whose talking," Lea shot back smugly.

"_Alright then, do you know _why_ I'm here?"_

"Should I?"

"_Shouldn't you?"_

"You tell me."

"_I'm not sure…I remember talking to Sora...Then I talked to Roxas. And then I faded…"_

"Faded…? Wait, did you say Sora?"

"_You know 'em?"_

Lea smirked as he stared up at his ceiling. "What's it to you?"

"_Heh…Nothing now, I guess. So, I'm stuck here?"_

"I sure hope not. They'll probably have me committed if I keep talking to a voice in my head. At least you're not real, otherwise I'd prob'ly be sent for murder…"

"_I'm r-…well, maybe I'm not."_

Axel sounded sad as he said this. Wait, that was stupid. How could a voice in his head sound sad? He really needed to get more sleep…

"Lea, I hope you're not going insane. That would be really messed up…" Lea muttered to himself; something that, he realized after the fact, was another sheer sign of increasing insanity.

"_So your name's Lea, huh?"_

For some reason, Axel found this amusing.

"So, tell me about yourself," Lea said, figuring that he might as well let his imagination entertain him as long as he had nothing better to do.

Axel seemed to find this amusing, too. Whoever he was, he had a weird sense of humor.

"_Well, I like to kill people in my spare time…"_

Lea choked as he went rigid in shock. He had a sociopath in his head…?!

"_Heh, maybe this won't be so bad, sharing bodies with you. You're kinda entertaining…"_

Lea glared. "Whoever said anything about sharing, Axel? You're just a figment of my imagination! _I'm_ the real one!"

As Lea forced Axel to the back of his mind, he couldn't mistake the sound of a ghostly chuckle echoing through his ears, and _his_ ears only.

_8_8_8_

"Why's he talking to himself?" a peppy female voice asked, and Sora blinked as the police department's main room re-registered in his brain.

"Wha…?"

Riku looked at Sora worriedly. "Are you okay?"

Sora's eyes were wide. "What the…? What's everyone staring at?"

Kairi's hand was on Sora's shoulder. "I think you just sort of…blanked out. And then you started talking…but it didn't have anything to do with our conversation. We were trying to figure out what to do next, remember?"

Confused and a little overwhelmed at all the sudden attention that the Police Officers were giving him, Sora's mind went blank. "I was just, uhhh…"

"He was talking on the phone."

Sora turned around in shock at the person who had just saved him from a very awkward situation. He was met with steely, calculating bluish-gray eyes.

"Where'd you come from?" Riku demanded. Ienzo's expression remained the same, though his lip seemed to twitch slightly.

"Why do you care? And I've been here the whole time."

Sora was awed at the ease in which Ienzo lied. It was almost as if…

"Why didn't I see you?" Riku asked, though he seemed to be the only one in the room that was still paying attention. Most of them had continued back with their original conversation, content with Ienzo's explanation.

Ienzo scoffed. "How should I know? It is not my fault you're particularly unobservant. Kairi saw me, didn't you, Kairi?"

"Yes," Kairi said, and Sora realized she was a few feet away. Her eyes met Ienzo's for a brief second before she answered. "Sora was talking on his cell phone."

"Kairi," Riku persisted, turning on his female friend. "But _you_ just asked what was wrong with Sora. How come you-? And besides, where did Sora get a phone? I thought it was too expens-"

At that moment, Sora's pocket vibrated. He impulsively reached in and pulled out a silver razr. His blue eyes widened.

Sora turned gave Riku a defiant look. The phone had abruptly stopped ringing.

"Where'd-?" Riku started.

"Oh, give it up, Riku," Sora said, suddenly irritated at Riku's stubbornness. Why couldn't he just let it go? "No one's even paying attention anymore. Why don't you believe me, anyways?"

Riku glared at Ienzo. "It's not that I don't believe _you_."

But Riku stalked off after that comment.

"What's wrong with _him_?" Sora asked Ienzo. He seemed to have abruptly forgotten that he was talking to a total stranger, and one that he'd just attempted to kill, no less. It didn't matter: Ienzo seemed so…trustworthy.

"Do you know who Roxas is?" Ienzo asked, speaking in a low tone. So _that_ was why he'd saved Sora from explaining himself…somehow, he'd known.

"How…?"

"I could tell. The room…it sme- _felt_…emptier. He's still there, but not as pronounced as before…And I know you have a connection with Roxas. Or rather; he has a connection with you. I wonder…"

Ienzo seemed to be half talking to himself.

"He said…He said that his world was gone. 'Sora' forgot him. He said…that he'd somehow…moved on to me…Do you know what's going on?"

Ienzo's eyes were colder than before as Sora looked into them again. He couldn't suppress a shiver. They were the same age, and Sora was actually taller, but, somehow, Ienzo seemed much older. Much more intimidating. Perhaps it was the enigmatic aura that surrounded him; was that Myde guy really his only friend, like all the rumors said? Did he kill people while they slept? Sora doubted the last one, but somehow…

Something strange was going on, and Ienzo seemed, currently, like the one with the most answers.

But still…

Whatever it was, something about Ienzo was…off.

6S6

Zack shook his head angrily.

"No…we can't do _that_. It's illegal!"

"Well," Riku said mockingly, having turned back to the conversation that was consulting on what to do, "what do _you_ think we should do, then?"

Zack shrugged at this. "I dunno." In truth, he'd only said that because his boss was in the room, and he felt he needed to make a nicer impression. But, shh, don't tell anyone.

"Why don't we just go over to his house and talk to him?" Yuffie suggested from her perch on the desk.

The room seemed to contemplate this for a moment, but then Leon sighed. "Yuffie, we can't just go around town flashing our badges. Besides, we don't really have a basis on even questioning him, let alone demanding entrance."

"We have witnesses!"

"…that were also accomplices in the crimes. _And_ they're minors. All we have is their word, and that's not enough. What if the public found out?"

The room was silent.

"Hey," Myde started, "…shouldn't you be reporting back to him by now? And…that means Ienzo should be dead, if you were still on his side… Isn't that kinda suspicious?"

"He's got a point," Zack agreed.

"Another thing to worry about…" Kairi said quietly as her eyelids dropped and she held her head, seeming on the verge of tears.

"No," Ienzo said in his soft voice, though the whole room heard it. "It's not something to worry about; we can use it to our advantage."

"Oh…" Myde said. "Yeah, I get it."

"Wait, what? What do you get?" Yuffie demanded as she jumped down clumsily and snatched Ienzo's thin shoulders. She shook him in mock frustration. "What is it, shorty?" Myde snickered at Ienzo's face.

"You're _pouting_," he said between breaths.

Ienzo's lower lip immediately tightened and he glared at Myde. "I am _not_. And I'm _not_ short, either."

"Really now?" Yuffie asked, hands on hips. "You're shorter than me, and _I'm_ pretty short."

If Lea had been there, this would have been the time where he would have said some backhanded compliment that would earn him a smack to the face from Ienzo. But, seeing as he wasn't, Myde stepped in to help his unfortunate friend who wasn't _short_, damn it.

"You're just jealous 'cause he's prettier than you."

Whether or not you'd have considered Ienzo's previous expression a 'pout', you honestly couldn't deny Yuffie's current expression. She huffed and crossed her arms, looking over at Myde angrily.

Zack and Riku laughed, but Leon only allowed a few seconds of it. "Focus, children. Now, what was it you were saying, Ienzo?"

Ienzo looked at Myde, who gave him a reassuring look. Then, he opened his mouth to speak.

As Sora listened, intrigued, he absently reached down into his pocket. To his surprise, the razr that had suddenly appeared there circumstantially had vanished.

6PD9

They were late. Kids these days…honestly. Yen Sid could hardly suppress his frustration, and that was saying something since he tended to be…well, _not_ this, whatever it was.

At that moment, a knock sounded on his front door, and he stood up stiffly from his couch to answer it. The over-large mouse-king sitting in the chair stood and followed him to the door.

Predictably, there stood Sora and Kairi, side-by-side and looking rather ashamed.

"I'm sorry we're late," Kairi said, a slight tremor in her voice. "It t-took longer…"

Yen Sid nodded his head in what he hoped was a grandfatherly manner. "It's quite alright."

He moved and gestured for them to come in, which they did with only slight hesitation. They walked right passed Mickey as though he wasn't there, which, to them, he wasn't.

Yen Sid didn't know why he was the only one who could see him. He'd omitted the possibility of hallucinations awhile ago; not even he was that creative. Besides, hadn't Mickey turned out to be completely correct so far? True, he hadn't advised that they _kill_, exactly, but he _had_ come to warn him- this entire world –that danger could _perhaps _be approaching.

And Yen Sid had taken it into his own hands. Well, everything was working out, wasn't it? The Police still didn't suspect them and-

"Listen, I'm sorry to tell you this, but he got away."

Yen Sid was startled out of his musings, and it took a moment for Sora's words to register.

"And how did this happen?" Yen Sid asked, trying to keep his composure.

Sora looked up at him guiltily. "I-…uhh…it was my fault. He's really…really…" Sora's eyes became wide and he seemed to be searching for a word.

"Manipulative," Kairi finished for him, and Sora nodded from his position next to Kairi.

"He told us lies, but we couldn't help but believe him," Kairi admitted truthfully. "You were completely right; they're _dangerous_."

"We probably shouldn't have doubted you."

Regardless of the situation, these words seemed to be music to Yen Sid's ears. Finally! He was getting some respect.

"Yes," Yen Sid said gravely, "and while it is unfortunate that 'it' escaped, I'm sure he's been consumed by Heartless by now- which is also unfortunate seeing as he's now become a _real _threat- so it can't be helped. Now, I propose we speak of the next step. Have you uncovered number seven's-?"

"No, you don't understand," Kairi interrupted, "he- it –got away from _everything_. We think the Heartless are still looking, but they haven't found him yet. It's like he completely disappeared. Riku's out looking right now…"

Yen Sid stared at the auburn-haired teenage girl. She'd always seemed different… slightly more intimidated, perhaps, but with a strong will and a kind heart. He'd never noticed it before, but she seemed almost like the ideal dark horse; out of the three of them, she was probably the most unlikely to do anything to upset Yen Sid, yet she held the most power, too. It was like she was hiding some unwritten strength behind her delicate features; quite frankly, it was unnerving.

What was she planning?

"That's impossible," Yen Sid said abruptly. "The Heartless are sick creatures, but they never fail. Unless you aided 'it', I have no idea how escape was possible."

Kairi's eyes were wide and pleading. "Please believe us. We honestly have no idea. Maybe you're right; it could've-"

"No," Yen Sid said as he stood up. He saw Mickey give him a puzzled look out of the corner of his eye, but chose to ignore it. This was _his_ battle…

"You're lying, aren't you? What are you-?"

The two teenagers could only watch in shock as Yen Sid removed a small handgun from his pocket.

"You!" Sora suddenly snarled and he wrenched Kairi's forms down into a hunched position. It took a moment for Yen Sid to realize that Sora was looking at something beyond Yen Sid.

"How'd you get away?!" Kairi demanded, staring at a point rather far below Yen Sid's shoulder.

"I found him in the woods," said a voice from behind Yen Sid. He turned abruptly.

Riku was standing by the front door- Yen Sid must have left it unlocked –with a tight hold on limp form.

At first glance, Yen Sid thought it was dead. But after a moment of silence, it's gaze turned upwards and fell upon Yen Sid.

"It's good to see you again, _Zexion_," Yen Sid mocked, a crooked smile surging onto his face. He didn't even try to suppress it.

_Yes…_FINALLY there was success!

"You don't seem to be looking too good; is something wrong?"

It glared coldly. "I'd say the same for you, but I guess you've always looked like that."

Yen Sid couldn't help it. He laughed.

"Now, now, what's all this? You don't need to act in front of us, remember? We know how you really feel, or, that is, _don't_ feel."

Its glare darkened. "Are you implying that _I don't feel_? That I'm not human?" It looked furious now. "Is _that_ what all this is about? _You don't think I can feel?_"

"Partly," Yen Sid replied curtly, the initial feeling of victory fading. Why wouldn't Sora just _kill_ it now? It was giving him a migraine…

"So, what are you going to do to me?" it asked, its face blank.

Yen Sid smiled cruelly. "I'm going to kill you. Well, actually, Sora is."

An absolute look of petrified terror crossed its features, and for the first time, Yen Sid's smile wavered. But he shook it off after only a second; it _wanted_ him to pity it, it wanted him to show it mercy.

Because that's what Nobodies are. Sure, they might have attractive appearances and pleasant characteristics, but in the end, they all couldn't care less if you were ripped limb by limb.

Emotions are the things that make people human, for if one lacked them, they would be no more than an animal driven by instinct. Compassion, love, regret…without them, the world would be a dismal place. Yet here the Nobodies are, quite without anything of the sort. And if they somehow worm their ways into someone's heart, there's no telling what that person might do: be like them? Save them…?

It was simply preposterous.

"What have I done to deserve such a thing?" it asked, and its eyes were silently pleading, _Don't kill me, please._

_I've done nothing wrong._

Yen Sid became more furious at the thought. This, _this_ is what was wrong. But, it's true; its eyes _were_ quite persuasive...

No, he mustn't think like that!

"It's more the fact that _you_ _don't_ _exist_. Nothing personal," and at this Yen Sid laughed.

"You're insane," it said, and Yen Sid was pleased to hear its voice crack on the last syllable. It wasn't as stoic as it pretended to be, was it? Understandable, really; though, it technically had no emotions, it had instinct, and it knew that its nonexistent life was about to end.

Everything acts desperate when nearing the end of life.

"How can you say that?!" it demanded. Stalling, probably. But no matter, Yen Sid would humor it.

"Because, creature, I have done research, I have had witnesses, and I have experienced it! I _know_."

"Prove it," the creature spat, and Yen Sid was immediately reminded of an upset cat. Its chin was thrust forward defiantly, its eyes were bright and challenging, its teeth were clenched and its shoulders were taut with strain.

"I've been to different worlds," Yen Sid said. He might as well explain, right? There was nothing to be ashamed of. "I've met people; mothers who have seen the dark shadows with the glowing eyes shred their child to pieces, seen their village go up in flames from the evil red-haired demon. I've met men who watched as their daughters were drowned in front of their very eyes; like the Pied Piper, a man with an enchanting smile had played music and led them to their demise. I've met orphans who listened to their parents' screams; all _they_ remembered was a pale man with eyes like a jackal and a voice so persuading that they would've killed themselves if it told them to.

"Vampires, werewolves- any kind of monster –all the stories were from them, the _'no-things'_ that walked amongst the darkness as though they were born from it. Watching, killing, then watching some more…all they've ever done was bring hate and fear into the lives of the innocent.

"I have a friend here who could explain it all much better, of course. His world was nearly destroyed a few years ago." Yen Sid smirked in the direction of King Mickey. "Of course, none of you can see him-"

"You're insane!" it shouted again, and Yen Sid looked up, miffed at being interrupted.

"Regardless of what _you_ think, I believe that Sora was about to do something?" Yen Sid looked over at said teenager, who nodded his head reassuringly and stepped towards the pathetic excuse of a-

"Yeah, we were, actually," said a voice, and Yen Sid went rigid.

"Wh-"

"You," another voice- a man's –said from somewhere else, "Yen Sid, are under arrest."

It took a few moments for the scenario to register in Yen Sid's brain.

"WHAT?!"

Two police officers came into view, and Yen Sid thought quickly. "Under what charges?"

"Murder," the male one said, and Yen Sid jumped when he felt the cool metal grazing across his left arm. He looked down to see that an officer- another man –was starting to handcuff him. He wrenched his arm away and took a step back.

"You have no proof," he snarled.

"We have all the proof we need."

Another figure- a teenage boy –stepped into Yen Sid's vision. His ocean-colored eyes were narrowed and his glare was fierce as he positioned himself near 'it' protectively. In his hand, he held a video camera.

"I've got everything on tape."

"Don't worry," Riku said with a malicious grin, "you'll probably just get committed to an asylum."

He'd been set up. He knew that now. Riku had released it, and was now glaring at Yen Sid with the same velocity as the other occupants of the room.

"Well," Yen Sid said, his voice shaking with rage, "I suppose that changes things."

Abruptly, he held up the handgun he'd been holding unconsciously in his hand the whole time and took aim. He only had one chance; who would it be?

After a brief decision, the sound of a gunshot could be heard splitting through the air.

With grim satisfaction, Yen Sid saw that it had hit its mark as he watched the figure crumple to the ground.

SKR6PD

**End Notes: …Uhh…'ello there. Please don't kill me? XD I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. **

**Oh, the Roxas and Axel part? LOL. I got so many requests to **_**somehow**_ **add Roxas in…'impossible' I thought. It would go against the whole concept. But then I was hit with a wave of inspiration. Sorry, I know it's kinda random…but many of you asked and I was all like, 'what the heck?'.**

**And, yes, I am aware that this chapter is confusing. However, it really wouldn't make any sense to explain everything **_**now**_**. So, yes, I will fill in the plotholes, so don't worry. You were **_**supposed**_** to be confused.**

**Game Quotes:**

"_**Commit it to memory/Got it memorized?"**_

_**?? -Omigosh, who could it be?-**__**Axel**_

**Okay, about the Nobodies killing people, I don't want to get any mail saying that, 'Demyx/Axel/insertsomeonehere would NEVER do that!' because, honestly, yes, yes they would. They're an organization after HEARTS, people, and you don't think they kill people? But, yeah, I know, I love them too. XD**

**As for any grammar/spelling mistakes. Live with it. There are starving children in Africa and you're mad about their/there? I'm sorry, but I'm human. My goal was to make it readable, (hopefully it was a bit more than that)–rant over-**

_**Review. NOW. Or, or…Axel will kill your children! XD **_

_**b9 iNe**_


	13. Chapter XIII

Chapter XIII

**Author's Notes: -glares- fifteen pages…of teeny-tiny little font. Yes, yes, I do love you. Now, don't you dare complain about late updating! I am aware that I take forever, so I made it up to you with THIS! –gestures at chapter xiii- Heh. Jk jk…really. Seriously.**

**Or not? **

**Disclaimer thingy: NONONONON, I DON'T OWN IT! –dies- Ugh, I'm not feeling too hot right now. Please don't sue me.**

**Enjoy, (or else)…;)**

Chapter XIII

_Beep, Beep, Beep._

_1…2…3…4…5...6._

"_Ienzo?"_

Ienzo attempted to pry his eyes open and take in his surroundings. Where…?

"_Can you hear me?"_

…why weren't his eyes opening? What was wrong with him?!

_Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep._

_1-2-3-4-5-6._

"_Ienzo, calm yourself. Though, I suppose your behavior would most likely be considered understandable. That deplorable-"_

"Ienzo! IENZO! He's waking up!" The first voice, once so clear, was fading as a new, desperate one grew louder.

He tried to speak as his dark world grew sharper and more in focus and all at once he realized someone was situated directly in front of his face. Kind hands were then pressed gently onto his chest and shook him lightly but insistently.

"Get off, Myde," Ienzo slurred, trying not to sound pathetic.

Myde's hands retracted immediately and he jumped back in surprise. Ienzo raised his lids slowly; apparently he'd regained control of his body. That was a relief; for a moment he'd thought he was paralyzed…

Wait, _where_ was he?

"Agh…I'm sorry! Are you hurt? Ah…I mean, of _course_ you're hurt, what am I saying? But, I mean, did I hurt you! I'm sorry! I didn't mean…"

Myde continued his nervous babble as Ienzo's eyes surveyed the room slowly. White, white, white….everything was white. Like unmarked snow, like perfect clouds, like the eyes of a crazy man as they rolled up in their sockets…

A hospital…because he'd been shot.

A knife was suddenly in his chest; brutal, serrated and white hot. Ienzo's spindly fingers reached up and clutched the front of his papery hospital gown. His teeth clenched together beneath tight lips as he stifled a shout. Where did that come from…didn't-?

_Ow-ow-ow-ow…pain, pain…_

_Beepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeep._

_1-2-3-4-5-6-1-2-3-4-5-6-1-2-3-4-5-6-1-2-3-4-5-6…_

"IENZO! Hey, someone get a nurse!"

A sticky trickle of blood oozed down his pale chin; Ienzo didn't even notice he had bitten his lower lip…

"Ienzo, c-calm down!"

"_What's happening?"_

"Make him stop it! He's freaking me out…"

_I-I'm not sure._

"Leave, then. It's no place for-"

"…_Ienzo, don't you remember?"_

"No. I promised. W-Where does it hurt?"

_No._

No

"No!"

A cool hand was suddenly caressing his trembling forehead.

"Shh…it's okay…you're gonna be fine. A nurse is coming, 'kay? I'm sorry…"

And then the comforting voice faded to silence, and Ienzo felt like calling out to it to please, not leave him, please, he should be the one asking for forgiveness...

His world went to black again; black, like moonless nights, like unknown depths of the ocean, like cringing, bloodthirsty creatures intent on...

On…doing…what…?

_1…2…3…4…5…6._

-_6_-9-6-

She was _not_ pleased. After all she'd done, after all she'd _sacrificed_, everything still goes wrong? This world was not fair; not fair at _all_.

But, perhaps, she'd have better luck on another one?

No, indeed, the saying 'the world isn't fair' applied to every world. Well, she supposed it was worth a shot…

It's not _her_ fault she was getting desperate; no, not her fault _at all_. It was_ Yen Sid's_ fault. Even after everything she'd done to convince him, he _still_ couldn't manage to fool a bunch of obnoxious teenagers. Well, saying '_obnoxious teenagers'_ was rather redundant, wasn't it? Especially in this case with that seemingly 'I'm-constantly-high' Sora…Regardless…

"PETE."

The canine-like…_thing_ looked up, wide-eyed, as it nervously said, "Y-Yes'm…?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Are you aware of the current status report?"

Pete straightened to his full height and his face turned serious. "I sure am. Sora 'n his little friends are all back on their home island, Donald 'n Goofy and all them're back at _their_ _high_-n'-_mighty_ castle", (Pete looked cross at this), "and _this_ castle's Nobody-free, as far as I can-"

"I wasn't _referring_ to that, idiot."

Pete looked startled. "Oh…uh, what…?"

"In…Oh, what shall I call it? The…'Alternate Universe'? The other…dimension, where our true, core selves all live on the same world, where we're all…" she sneered at this, "_equal?_"

"Oh," Pete said, "that's going pretty good, last time I checked…isn't it?"

She scowled. "No, Pete, things are _not going well._"

"But, Maleficent, how…?"

Maleficent sighed as she explained. "I know I've told you this before, but I guess I'll have to do it again. Now, you remember how I told you our how universes fit together?"

"Yeah," Pete nodded, "you said that it's not like here, where we have other worlds and can travel freely from one to the other. The Alternate Universe is a whole 'nuther thing in itself. You said it's kinda like…a sphere, right? Like, our Universe and all its worlds are in the topmost layer, and some people's _true self_ sometimes slips through the cracks and into the Alternate World, which is right below this one in layering."

Maleficent nodded. "Yes, that's basically it. And do you remember what I said about why that is?"

At the look on Pete's face, Maleficent continued. "When a person is feeling…no, not depressed, per say, but…completely lost. Like they no longer are connected to who they _really _are…? That's when you think you're emotions are playing tricks on you and you feel you don't know where you're going or why; that's when you slip through the cracks and into the Alternate World. So, not everyone that exists here exists in the Alternate World; only those who have felt a deep disconnection with themselves."

"Alright," Pete said hesitantly, "I sorta get it…"

"What slips through the cracks reforms in the Alternate Universe taking the form of the person inside you that you felt you lost. You don't notice, of course; you just suddenly feel lighter and like you are aware of your purpose. It doesn't feel as though you're incomplete; you're not. The new person that is now in the other world may look and act just like you, but it's now thinking and acting independently. It served its purpose as a deeper root towards who you really are, but you now hold no obligations to it. It's its own person and even if you die, it will still live on."

"You explained all that," Pete said, "but, if that's the case, then why were you tryin' to kill all them Nobodies' Other's inner selves?"

"Because," Maleficent snapped, "it's true that if you kill the person in _this_ world, the double in the Alternate Universe won't die. However, I can't say the same for the other way around."

Maleficent smirked as Pete looked at her skeptically. "Wha-?"

"For example, if the Riku in _this_ world - the original Riku – was killed, then the Riku in the other world – the one from the Alternate Universe that appeared there when Original Riku was feeling hopeless and lost in the darkness – would _not_ die. Conversely, if the _Alternate Universe_ Riku was killed, then the _Original _Riku _would_ die."

"Okay," Pete nodded, "that sorta makes sense. So, you were tryin' to kill all the Nobodies' Other's selves that ended up in the Alternate Universe so that the _Nobodies_ from this world would die, too, and you wouldn't have to fight 'em in _this_ world. 'Cause even though Sora was the one who beat 'em in the end, they were givin' you a lot a trouble."

"That's correct."

"Okay, but why were makin' Sora and Yen Sid and all them do it? I mean, why go to all that trouble of bringin' Yen Sid here and all that? Why didn't you just let the Heartless you sent after them get 'em?"

Maleficent sighed again. "Because, imbecile, if that were so, then it would have created a Nobody in the Alternate Universe and - by chain reaction of being lost in darkness and feeling detached from one's self, as the process of creating a Nobody requires - then it would have gone through the cracks into the _Alternate-_Alternate Universe and possibly _so forth_. I really have no idea how long it goes on until you reach the state of complete Nothingness... And while I have no qualms about what would happen to the Alternate Universe if Nobodies and Heartless suddenly started appearing and killing people, I wouldn't want _my_ true self to die, would I, because that would kill _me._"

"Hmph, but why did you send Heartless, then? Why didn't you just, y'know, get Yen Sid to do all that stuff? Then you wouldn't even have 'ta worry!"

"I did think about that," Maleficent admitted. "But I decided against that, in the end. While it might seem like the plan I decided on seems riskier, the opposite is actually true. If I didn't send Heartless, why would Yen Sid, or _Sora,_ by extension, even believe me enough to do my bidding? No, that wouldn't do; if I didn't show them sufficient proof then if never would have worked even _this _well. Also, it's nice to have them pressured to hurry _and_ it's nice to have a sort of insurance if they get away the first time. The Heartless will never cease attacking, even if Sora will. And if Sora stops attacking the targets, he'll never stop attacking the Heartless. Therefore, it's a win-win situation; if worse comes to worst, Sora will get rid of all the Heartless I sent, seeing as they won't multiply in Alternate Universe."

"Fine," Pete muttered, still frustrated. "But I _still _don't understand why you're still killing the Nobodies' Other's Alternate Universe selves. They're gone from this world, aren't they? So there's no point in killing them from the 'roots' any more…"

Maleficent gritted her teeth. She never was one for patience. "I'm still allowing them to be killed because a) I might as well finish what I've started, b) I don't really care to make them stop, c) no: the Nobodies may appear gone, but you never know, and d) eventually they'll reach XIII, won't they? They'll reach Sora. He'll be erased from this world."

Comprehension shone in Pete's usually dull eyes. "So…that's what you were planning all along? To get rid of Sora?"

"And to get rid of the other Nobodies, but, yes, that was my main goal."

When Pete didn't speak again, Maleficent continued.

"That's where we arrive at our problem. Apparently, Nobodies that are already supposed to be faded are slipping through the Alternate Universe barrier. What you didn't mention is that those trapped in darkness of their own volition aren't the only ones who slip into Alternate Universe; deceased ones who are forgotten also may end up there if they had a strong connection with someone. Not everyone, though; it seems as though Nobodies who have slipped away from their Other's memories are ending up in their Other's Alternate Universe counterpart. That's where we reach our setback."

"Why?" Pete started again. "I don't really-"

"For example," Maleficent snapped, interrupting Pete, "there was a Nobody called Demyx, who had the element of water. When Demyx faded, his Other, Myde, had been long gone. So, Demyx was never a part of Myde again. Instead, he ended up in the head of the next-best thing: Alternate Universe Myde. I don't believe that Nobodies are _usually_ strong enough in the minds of there Other's counterpart's head to _say_ anything, but their influence is apparent. For instance, Alternate Universe Myde, who, admittedly, had always had an _interest_ in swimming, suddenly became the best and most enthusiastic swimmer the coach had ever seen. And it wasn't as if he had just practiced; no, it was as though it were an _instinct_."

"I still don't see-"

"It was different when Roxas faded. He was still alive in Sora's memory, wasn't he? But when Sora got distracted and lost sight of his Nobodies' presence, Roxas was thrown out of this world's existence completely. He ended up in AU Sora's mind."

"That's when I realized this; the connection. Confused as he was, Roxas immediately started questioning AU Sora – who had even less of an idea of what was going on than AU Sora did – about Axel."

"Who's Axel?" Pete predictably asked.

"Axel is the Nobody of Lea. Axel and Roxas had an unusually strong 'friendship' and, he, too, refused to leave AU Lea alone."

"What does that mean?"

"It means," Maleficent snarled, "that when a Nobody is 'feeling' the instinct of urgency, such as what Roxas and Axel were feeling, then they are able to communicate with their AU Others."

"I still don't-"

"There's more, though. When AU Ienzo was feeling the pressure of Yen Sid's stare, it reminded of something. This sense of déjà vu is occurring more and more lately in the AU Other's, and it can't be good. Because when AU Ienzo's heart was racing and his mind was reeling, there was something in the back of his mind that knew what was happening. Ienzo was feeling such a strong feeling of desperation that he said the first thing that came to mind; something that is quite unlike him under normal circumstances. That's when Zexion prodded Ienzo to speak and introduce himself as 'Zexion'. Of course, neither Ienzo nor Yen Sid really knew what this meant, but I do..."

"What?" Pete asked, intrigued.

Maleficent turned and gazed out at the Hall of Empty Melodies. How many hollow beings felt that overwhelming feeling of emptiness hear? It was almost cruel…

"When Ansem the Wise and his apprentices were conducting research on hearts, they stumbled something about Universes... Eventually, they concluded all that I have – probably much more. Like everything, they were very secretive…"

"What happened? I still-"

"Yes," Maleficent snapped, "I _know_ you don't get it. What I've been trying to tell you is this; AU Ienzo now has a very annoyed Zexion hiding in the corners of his mind. Zexion is the Nobody of Ienzo - the sixth apprentice of Ansem the Wise - and has _all of Ienzo's memories. _When AU Ienzo said 'I'm Zexion' it was a message to me. He knows who I am; he was in the Organization, wasn't he? And he's the last one that knows about the different realities. So, unlike everyone else currently in AU, he knows_ exactly what's going on._"

"So?" Pete started. Then a look of realization crossed his face. "…OH!"

"Indeed," Maleficent nodded gravely.

No, this was _not _good at all…

-P-M-P-

"What-?!"

_Beepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeep._

"Is he stabilized?"

"Affirmative. Increase the morphine and make sure he _stays-"_

"Alright. Hey, do you-?"

Myde turned to an RN and resisted the urge to scream and shout and _demand_ attention because he _wanted_ _to_ _know_ _what_ _was_ _happening_. After a few minutes, (that felt like agony), the room reached a relative calm as the beeping noise started coming less frequently and erratically, and more continuously. As the room started to slowly empty of professionals in different forms of scrubs and such, Myde tried to catch the attention of a young nurse passing by. She ignored him and continued to chatter obnoxiously with her friend. Jeez, was that how _he_ appeared to other people sometimes…?

Finally, a kind-looking RN who had just inserted another needle into Ienzo's IV took mercy on the overwhelmed teenager and asked what was wrong.

"What's wrong with _him_?" Myde couldn't help but demand.

The nurse looked up and – after the doctor and other nurses had left completely – said, "He simply went into shock. The pain medication was wearing off when he woke up, and I suppose his panic contributed to the reaction, too."

Myde bit his lip nervously. "H-He's gonna be alright, right?"

The nurse smiled kindly. "You'll have to ask the doctor, but I'm mostly positive he should be fine. He just got out of surgery, and his wound appeared to be a clean shot. The bullet was easy to remove."

Myde sighed with relief as he sank into a nearby chair.

"You're a friend of his?" she asked conversationally.

"Y-Yeah," Myde stuttered. "Since forever. I dunno what I'd do if he…"

She gave him another sympathetic smile. "My name is Rinoa Heartily, okay? I'll be back in a little bit. He shouldn't be waking up anytime soon; you should probably go home."

Myde slouched lower in his chair as he blushed. "I-I promised…"

"Honey, he won't notice if you leave. You're parents are probably worried about you. Go home."

"I already called my mom; she said it was fine…"

"Listen…?"

"Myde."

"Right. Listen Myde," Rinoa said seriously, her dark eyes grave as she crouched down to Myde's current eye-level. "I understand what you're going through - honest, I do – but this is something that's beyond your control. It's not-"

"Stop," Myde croaked out, "Please, just stop. I _need_ to be here, alright? If I leave, he'll…h-have no one when he wakes up."

She looked at him sharply. "Isn't that a little dramatic?"

Myde blushed slightly and muttered, "Yeah, well, I've been known to be like that sometimes…"

"But still," Rinoa said slowly, "I get it. I'll leave, alright? Do whatever, I guess…"

"It was nice talking to you," Myde breathed as the atmosphere appeared lighter. He hated being under pressure; he never remembered what exactly to say. When they were in the seventh grade, Ienzo had told him mockingly that he should carry around a note card that he could write on beforehand; that way, he'll at least sound mildly coherent when in a stressful situation.

With that thought, Myde turned to look back at Ienzo. He was so pale...And purple-ish shadows were bruised under his eyes, something that Myde hadn't noticed before. Where did those come from? Was Ienzo really stressed out enough to loose sleep over something? It was then that Myde realized, mournfully, about how little he knew about his enigmatic classmate. They'd been friends for years now…so how come the most he knew about him was that he was OCD and mildly antisocial?

_Well,_ Myde thought angrily, _it's not like it's my fault. Ienzo hardly ever talks about himself...he's always criticizing or complaining or…or what?_

Ienzo never really let his guard down, even around Myde; he realized this now, too. Sure, there were moments when he would show what a big heart he had…like when he'd stood up for Myde and punched a bully right in the nose, (Seifer had a bruise for weeks), but even then he couldn't stop muttering things about, 'not my style' and 'you _so_ owe me'.

Why couldn't he ever just…?

"Heey, Myde! We brought food! But you'd better come out here; I dunno about the policy about food in this place…."

Myde looked up abruptly. "Oh, h-hey Yuffie, Squ-_Leon_, Zack, what are you guys doing here?"

Yuffie bounded into the room carrying a white paper bag, Leon and Zack following after a moment's hesitation at the doorway.

"Yeah," agreed Yuffie to herself, "who really cares, right? I'm starving!" She promptly ripped open the bag and pulled something out. "Tacos! Sorry, we didn't really know what you liked, so we got you tacos, m'kay?"

A small grin formed on Myde's face. "Nahh, that's fine…I love tacos."

"Me too," Yuffie said unnecessarily as she bit into the hard outer shell. "I'm telling you, no one makes food like those…those…taco-makers!"

"Yuffie," Leon pointed out as he sat down in another chair, "you _do _know that what you're now eating is nothing like-"

"Ah, give it up, Leon," Zack laughed as he bit into his own taco.

The idle chatter continued and managed to never fluctuate to a dull hum, but still not get into the boundaries of any serious or pressing matter.

It was because of this that no one noticed at first that Ienzo was awake. His cool, dark icy eyes calculated the room silently, his pale complexion looking even sicklier against the pure white and gray backgrounds of the bland hospital room.

Predictably, Leon noticed first.

"You're awake."

This sent the room into a flurry of action. Yuffie spun around from her position of sitting lazily on the arm of a chair and Zack nearly fell over, (well, that had more to do with Yuffie's push than his surprise, but that's irrelevant…).

It was Myde, though, who caused the most commotion, yet in such a subtle way that most had to blink twice before they could believe that it was _Myde _who had just rushed over to Ienzo's side.

"Ienzo, are you okay?" Myde muttered softly; the softest Ienzo had ever heard Myde speak.

"Yes," Ienzo muttered, embarrassed the intensity in which everyone was scrutinizing him with. "Care to tell me what happened?"

"What's the last thing you remember?" Leon asked in a kinder voice than usual, (though it still wasn't very kind).

"Yen Sid shot me," Ienzo stated simply.

"After that, you were rushed to the hospital," Myde began eagerly.

"Yeah, I've gathered that," Ienzo snapped. At the hurt look on Myde's face, though, he instantly regretted it.

"Zack and Yuffie escorted Yen Sid to the hospital, too, so that he could be psychologically analyzed."

"And?"

Leon paused. "He's been deemed insane. The trial probably won't be for a couple more months, but it's predicted he'll get off with just a sentence to the mental hospital. That's where he is right now."

Ienzo's face remained stoic. "What about _them_?"

"Sora, Riku and Kairi?" Yuffie questioned brightly. "They went off to try and find the rest of the Heartless. They're supposed to be hanging around you, but we still haven't seen any yet."

"I meant, what's going to happen to them?"

"Oh," Yuffie said blankly. She looked at Leon questioningly.

"We're not sure yet. As far as I know, they don't deserve any penalties, with all they've done. I'm going to tell the court that they were blackmailed into it and were in no way responsible for all that's happened."

Ienzo was silent as he took in the news that his almost-murderers were getting off easy. Myde was looking nervously at his face, as if expecting him to throw a fit.

"Oh," Ienzo finally said. "Alright, then. I suppose you're right."

"What?" Myde blurted. "I thought you'd be furious. _I_ was furious."

Ienzo traced and counted the threads in his thin bed sheet as he spoke slowly. "I have a basis to be angry, however, I'm not willing to waste my breath on them. We'll never be friends; they acted too rashly and hostilely for that…but I agree that their lives shouldn't be ruined because of simply trying to stay alive: it's a natural instinct, after all."

"…" Myde's face was stony as he digested his words.

"Listen," Zack jumped in, sensing the rift in the atmosphere, "let's discuss this later, okay?"

Myde turned away, arms crossed. _Pouting, _Ienzo thought scathingly. _He's pouting like a little kid. And why? Because I don't wear my emotions on my sleeves? Of course I'm mad at them; that doesn't mean I'm going to tell them that…_

Another fifteen minutes passed. The police officers finally made their cheery, (in Yuffie's case), goodbyes and left, saying that they had work to do and that they'd catch up with them later. Five minutes after that, and still the teenagers had not spoken a word to each other.

Ten minutes. Ienzo was getting frustrated, but he was stubborn, so he kept quiet. Myde was stubborn too, of course, but Ienzo had more practice with staying silent, so it was Myde that broke it at last. "I can't believe you."

"Why not?" Ienzo asked somewhat childishly. His eyes narrowed.

"Because," Myde exploded, his eyes fierce. "Because, you're not even acting _human_! You're _allowed_ to say you hate sometimes, you know. _You don't always have to act so damn tough!_"

Myde was swearing. Obviously, he was angrier than Ienzo had anticipated. This couldn't just be about Sora; Myde was way too furious for it to be something as petty as that.

"Tough? Maybe that's just my personality. Has it ever occurred to you that _maybe not everyone loves people like you do? Maybe not everyone is obnoxious like you are?"_

Myde was on his feet now. "Me? I'm obnoxious? Ha. Well, at least I'm not _heartless_. Honestly, do you _know_ what people say at school about you? _Do you understand how hard it is for me to stick up for you?! _And I _hate_ how you're always giving Lea these dirty looks, like you're plotting his murder or something!"

"_Me? He's _the one plotting _my_ murder. _He's_ the one that hates me. I'm impartial to him, true, but that was his own violation; _I _had nothing to do with it."

Myde opened his mouth angrily to shoot back a retort, but Ienzo interrupted him.

"_Furthermore_, Myde, I had no idea you were so _inclined_ to care about what people may or may not say about me. I never asked for your help, you know; you were the one that-"

"Oh, _please_ don't be overdramatic, Ienzo. Everyone could tell you were desperate the moment you stepped onto that bus the first day of school. Honestly, you can't really believe I actually _cared_? I just felt sorry for you."

_Beep-beep-beep._

The semi-silence – all quiet except the heart monitor's frantic mantra – seemed to go on for centuries in its heavy, heinous state. The stillness wasn't broken even in their faces; Myde's frozen mid-glower, nostrils flared, eyes bright and vicious with the thrill of the seldom attack. Ienzo's expression revealed nothing; eyes blank, muscles relaxed, lower lip infinitesimally pursed.

Then gradually, ever so gradually, Myde's mask of utter maliciousness slipped from his face and was pushed away by one of utmost horror. His eyes widened and his lips parted into an 'o' shape. His perfectly curved chin – once jutted out in defiance – now lay more towards his swan neck. His posture weakened and slumped and his long, thin fingers unclenched, leaving red marks.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Ienzo couldn't help but be reminded slightly of a regretful puppy.

"O-Ohmigosh, you-…I y-you know….I swear-I didn't mean that; I'm s-sor-!"

It all happened fast. Myde, who had been on the edge of his plastic hospital chair, was unconsciously inclining forwards as he stammered and apologized and-! That was when he fell out of his chair.

"Ow!" Myde yelped as he thudded to the ground. He managed to catch himself before falling face-first, but there was no stopping gravity. His knees buckled and slid under the chair's legs and the motion propelled most of his body weight to his hands. Unable to take it under such short notice, his forearms shook and crumbled. His chin connected with the floor and an 'oof' escaped his lips as his torso finally fully landed on the floor.

A moment passed by in more silence. Another moment. And another. Myde slowly lifted his head and moved his arms experimentally. It became evident to him after another moment that the only thing that was injured was his pride.

A muffled choking noise sounded from overhead, and Myde looked up swiftly in panic. Was Ienzo having trouble breathing? What-?

It took a moment for the image to register in Myde's brain: Ienzo's trembling figure, pale, spidery hands clasped over his pale mouth, violet eyes narrowed and bright… Ienzo was…

…crying?

"_Ienzo_," Myde melted, his eyes beginning to water, "I'm so-".

Unable to contain it any longer, Ienzo's hands that had been constraining his full-out display let go and a foreign noise released from his parted lips.

It was beautiful. Softly singing through the air, yet sharp, too, it glided across the sound waves, resembling a house cat's purr, a tiger's chuff, a human's…

…laughter.

Myde's eyes widened. Ienzo was…laughing? Like, _really_ laughing? Not mockingly, not derisively, not sarcastically, not… _Ienzo_ –ish at _all_.

But then again, maybe this _was_ Ienzo; unguarded, unedited. This was Ienzo's core, which he was hiding underneath his scathing exterior this whole time. True, Myde had caught glimpses of him once in a while; every time Ienzo spoke completely truthfully without any twisting of words, every time his eyes would light up with almost childlike intrigue whenever Myde would match him at his own game and shoot something back, every time the left side of his lip would curve upwards - not in a sneer, but in a true smile - whenever Myde did something especially kind or stupid.

For what seemed like the first time, Myde wondered what had happened to Ienzo…what had caused him to hide under an apathetic and sometimes vicious exterior. There had to have been something in his past; people weren't just born with an indifference towards the world.

But maybe that was something Myde would never find out.

He focused back on the laughter again, for it still hadn't stopped throughout his musings. A smile grew on his face, and suddenly he couldn't hold it in any longer.

And then, there was a melody.

The breathy, tenor voice was joined with a higher, stronger one. It was slightly nasal, but pleasant, all the same, and the two sounds listened almost like a song. They completed each other, like different parts in a choir. Like strings on a guitar. Like night and day. Like _Myde_ and _Ienzo_.

Alone, one may seem vivacious and dramatic, the other unpleasant and bleak. But they balanced each other; complemented each other.

It was melody and harmony, and it was beautiful.

They laughed until their sides hurt, until they forgot why they were laughing, until they remembered why they'd become friends in the first place.

Myde's laughter grew until he felt he couldn't stop; he didn't _want_ to stop; he wanted it to stay like this forever.

But finally, it did. The heart monitor had slowed to a rhythmic slower interval, and their voices faded in their diaphragms.

For the third time that day, there was silence. But unlike before, this silence was a pleasant one.

-6-9-6-

"_You're doing it wrong."_

"What?" muttered Lea venomously, "what am I doing 'wrong' _this_ time, hm?"

"_You're supposed to put the milk in _after_ you drain out the water."_

Lea swore under his breath as stared at the milky concoction before him. Whoever said making Mac and Cheese was _easy_? He pulled the pot off the stove and poured it down the sink. Well, there went the fifth box of failed attempts. There were no more packages. Only one alternative remained: he was going to starve.

_I bet no one would care,_ Lea thought moodily as he grabbed an ice cream bar – his last form of sustenance left before he was officially without food - from the fridge. _What with Myde off with his new 'boyfriend' that has the temperament of a serial killer. Yeah, well, he had _Axel_ the voice in his head, so take _that_ traitor. _

Except, Axel wasn't always there; in his head, that is. For some reason, he only shows up sometimes, and Lea has yet to discover a pattern with the instances. When he asked Axel, he made one of his annoyingly cryptic remarks and changed the subject. _And _he still hadn't explained what he was doing in his head; what an obnoxious little-

"_Aw, are you feeling sorry for yourself?"_ Axel mocked as Lea bit into his ice cream ravenously.

"Oh sh- That's cold!" Lea yelped as he launched himself from the couch and back into the kitchen, where he promptly spit out his mouthful and turned the sink on as hot as it could go. He angled his head and moved it so that it was directly under the faucet.

"_Feeling better?"_

Lea glared at Axel - though he didn't really know were exactly he was. "I have sensitive teeth, okay? I can't bite into anything too cold-"

"_Yeah, whatever,"_ Axel drawled nonchalantly. _"What are you doing?"_

"Melting my brain," Lea said smugly as he turned on his Playstation. "At least, that's what my teachers say playing video games for 24 hours does to you. I figured I might as well try it out, y'know, just to see if they're actually capable of saying something that resembles the truth once in awhile."

"_Right,"_ Axel said skeptically, _"not that I don't agree, but why are you doing that?"_

"You're in my head, right?" Lea asked. "I mean, sometimes you're there more than other times, but I know you're _always _in my head."

"_Oh really, now?"_ Axel asked unbelievingly. _"And how did you gather that?"_

"Because," Lea explained with more patience than normal, "I can tell you're there; you're presence is always in the back of my mind, just sometimes it's fainter than others."

"_Hm,"_ and Axel refused to acknowledge any further.

Lea did, indeed, play video games all night. Whether it was 24 hours or not, he wasn't sure, but after the first hour or two he couldn't help but be secretly glad for the help Axel was giving him. What they say about two heads, (metaphorically in this case, of course), being better than one is _so_ true.

Or not.

"_Shoot, shoot, shoot! No, not _that _idiot, I meant tha- Oh, never mind, you're already dead." _

Lea threw the controller at the TV and lay his back onto the floor. They'd been at it for…how many hours now? Whatever, like it really mattered…

…

…

"_Hey, wake up!"_

Lea jolted and his eyes flew open. He looked around for the source of the voice for a brief moment. Then he remembered.

"What? What is it, Axel?" Lea snapped blearily as his head slowly fell to his shoulder.

"_Your phone is ringing."_

Sure enough, Lea's pocket was vibrating persistently. With a sigh, he reached down and flipped it open.

"What?" Lea muttered peevishly.

"Lea," the person on the other line said, "I'm afraid I have some bad news."

-_8_-8-_8_-

**End Notes: Tah-dah! Welcome to the most clichéd chapter ending ever! Well, I don't care; I couldn't find a better place to stop it; gotta keep up my constantly-ends-on-cliffhanger-image, right? Oh, yeah, I've pretty much given up on that 'don't write cliffhanger' thing. From now on, it's prob'ly going to be the standard. **

**Except the ending, that is. ;)**

**Grammar/Spelling mistakes: liv wit it. XD Sorry, but I've been working so long on this that I don't really care. I'm too lazy to look over it…**_**again**_**. So, please don't spam.**

**Heey! So, I'm…ehh…tired. What was I saying again? I bet I'll remember it in a few seconds.**

…

…**dang.**

**Huh, do I need anything else here? I guess not…**

_**Review? –insert pleading comment here-**_

_**Oh, I know, REVIEW OR ROXAS WILL EAT ALL YOUR ICE CREAM! HA!**_

_**b9 iNe**_


	14. Chapter XIV

Chapter XIV

**Author's Notes: Umm…parley? –throws up arms- I swear I have a reason!**

**Okay, so if you care about why this took so long, read this. If you don't, go ahead and just go to Chapter XIV…I don't really care. It's not important. **

**So, for one week (two weeks ago. We left on Sunday at one thirty in the morning. Yes, we DROVE), we had to go to Arches National Park for an education trip. That's in Utah, for those who don't know. It was really cool, but there were a few drawbacks. One: absolutely NO technology of any kind. That means phones, iPods, portable video games, radios, laptops…etc. You get the picture. Two: on Monday, we went hiking and I…err…had a bit of an accident. I was climbing around at Turret Arch, (cool name, huh? Cool looking arch, too) and I fell about twenty feet. Why? Because my mom told me, "Don't you DARE go ANY further, -insert name here-!" and then I said, "Psh, come on, mom. I know what I'm doing." And then I fell. Yeah, teenagers, listen to your parents. Otherwise, you'll end up with nine stitches in your back and a torn ligament in your shoulder. Along with multiple scarring…-shudder- It will look really cool when it stops oozing blood, though…**

**Yeah…so. Nine stitches. I could've gotten ten, but I told the doctor who was sewing me up, (in my own room on my own bed, nonetheless: there were doctors on the trip with us), that nine was my favorite number and that Demyx would be sad if I got ten.**

**Okay…not really. But it's true he could've done ten. He ran out of string, you see. –shudder again- **

**Okay, so…you get it? Right. Read on, then, faithful readers…**

Chapter XIV

Sora chewed his lip nervously as he watched his mother pace a path into their beige living room carpet. He held the throw pillow close to his chest; this silence would kill him, honestly, it would.

"Mom…?" he finally said after being unable to take the pressure a moment longer. "Say something…"

She stopped abruptly and stared at him.

…

…

"What am I supposed to say? I just…found out that my _son_ is a…a…murderer…"

Sora flinched at the word. "Mom…Mom, I…please…You can't imagine how horrible I feel already…"

He sank deeper into the couch cushion, his great blue eyes starting to water.

"Oh, honey…" she hummed softly as she rushed to his side. "I'm sorry, it's just…I'm in shock."

Sora turned to face the other way, hiding his face childishly.

"I believe you, really, I do," she continued, "I _know_ you wouldn't do something like that if…if you weren't forced to in someway. And as selfish as it may sound, I'd rather it have been them then you…"

Sora sniffed. "You know that if it were anyone else besides Riku…and Kairi…I _never_…"

"Shhh…" she sang softly as Sora's face was buried into her shoulder, and she rubbed his back in a comforting motion.

"What would…people think of me…when they-?" He couldn't continue.

She clenched her teeth. "Honey, listen to me. We're going to get through this, alright? And don't you think for a second that anyone would think any less of you if they knew the whole story; I know _I _don't."

Sora pulled away from her and smiled shakily.

"Time for a movie marathon, yeah?" she said at once, sweeping gracefully across the room and returning by his side in a manner of minutes armed with several remotes and a bowl of popcorn.

"You sure you're up for it? Last time, you fell asleep after the second movie. I'd say you were getting old, Mom," Sora attempted to joke as he wiped the remaining bit of wetness off his face.

Sora had to admit, it was hard to pretend like nothing was wrong. Like he hadn't committed a crime so heinous. And before the age of sixteen…

But, thankfully, that night he managed to forget, if only for a few hours. It was just like old times.

They hadn't been able to tell his mom the whole story, (she never would have believed them), and so Leon had told her the vague truth: Sora, Riku, and Kairi had been blackmailed into assassinating various people.

Of course, none of them had _actually_ killed anyone thanks to the Heartless always getting there first, but seeing as murder _was_ their intention…

She knew enough to judge him. She could have shunned him, could have hated him, could have scolded him for _not doing the right thing…_but she didn't.

So, Sora had to admit, his mother really wasn't SO bad...

In fact, she was pretty awesome.

-S-S-S-

"Is that so?"

Ienzo refused to look away from her penetrating, cobalt gaze.

"Yes," he said precisely, "it is."

"And why, may I ask, was I _just_ informed that you were in the hospital?"

Ienzo held his ground. "_I_ wasn't aware that you weren't informed. Perhaps the receptionist forgot to call."

"Forgot-?"

"Either way," Ienzo continued steadily, "I am perplexed on how you believe this is _my_ fault."

She stared at him, her tanned face narrowing infinitesimally, and Ienzo knew he'd won.

He may not particularly like her, but he knew for a fact that she never contradicted logic when it was obviously unavoidable.

"Regardless," she said after a brief pause, "it still hasn't been explained to me how you got yourself shot in the first place. I thought you were more intelligent then that, Ienzo."

"My apologies," Ienzo said with only a hint of irony, "I was under the impression that Officer Leon had already educated you of the circumstances, but maybe someone should do it again, just in case you weren't really…following."

If the tension in the room wasn't thick enough already, it worsened ten-fold at that moment. He knew he'd crossed the line at insinuating that she was unintelligent, but he was beyond caring at this point. He couldn't explain the satisfaction he felt at the look of anger on her face; how sadistically _powerful_ it felt to know that he had finally manipulated his words in a way that had gotten to her. Finally, after all these years, something that he had said had managed to penetrate her hard heart enough to create a reaction that was tangible to everyone.

After only a moment of gloating, however, Ienzo became aware of the positively murderous look on her face. And it was at this point that he was immensely grateful that he was in a hospital that was populated with people and nurses that might come to his aid.

But…that was probably just paranoia: it's not like she had ever _actually _laid a hand on him.

But still…

She clenched the foot of his hospital bed, her eyes gleaming, though it was the only indicator that she was angry: her face remained quite calm. Ienzo automatically shrank back into his thin white sheets, though his expression, too, kept its practiced mask.

If there was a bystander to this display, it would be quite obvious that the two people currently in the center of the mounting tension were related, for they both had the identical, somehow_ expressionless_, facade on their face, their eyes were the same color, their chin the same shape.

But it was there that thoughts of a mother/son relationship ended.

It wasn't just because the woman was tall, athletic, and refined looking – she was clearly a prominent, powerful and wealthy individual. Her skin was tanned, her hair an ash color: everything about her insinuated wealth, self-indulgence and perfection.

It wasn't just because everything about the adolescent seemed unnatural – he was pallid and rather lacking in the stature department. His fingers were long and spidery as they grasped his sheets in a slightly more defensive position: he was used to being confronted and having to defend his case, unlike the woman who appeared to always get her way.

Because these were all traits that could be forgiven in the great, mysterious world of genetics. These two could still be assumed related – mother and son, in fact – if it weren't for the distinct aura that engulfed the room.

The woman was on the attack, and the teenager was her prey. And it wasn't in the typical fashion of 'teen gets irritated by parent, teen provokes parent, parent sets consequences etc.' No, it was the look a lioness used when stalking an injured baby zebra.

In other words, it was completely disproportionate and just…_wrong_.

But on the other hand, it was also a fact of life, for it was obvious that they'd been in this position before…

And surely, _surely_ a mother wouldn't act with such animosity towards her son…

This is what Ienzo heard himself thinking as he stared into the face of _his_ _mother_ – his last and only relative.

"_Mom, do you love me?" _

_The woman turned and stared down at the waist-height boy's inquiring face. Their eyes met for a moment before she turned back to her work. _

"_Not now, Ienzo. Please refrain from asking pointless questions and do your work."_

"_But Ms. Fauna said I could have recess right now. And I don't agree that my inquiry was pointless; I hear people say 'I love you' to each other all the time. How come you never have?"_

_Her head turned to give him a sideways glance, and it was a few moments, (one's in which he was hoping desperately he hadn't said the wrong thing), before she chose to answer._

"_Ienzo," she said seriously, and she leaned over from her chair so they were at perfect eye-level, "I'm demanding you to listen to me. Are you listening?" _

_Ienzo nodded, mesmerized at the amount of attention she was suddenly giving him. Her eyes stayed interlocked with his, and he relished in the moment. _

"_There is no such thing as love. Affection? Perhaps. Respect? Most definitely. But not love."_

"_But," Ienzo continued, determined not to drop the discussion, "then why do so many people talk about it? The Bible talks about love, Disney talks about love, Shakespeare talks about love – what about Romeo and Juliet?"_

_Her voice didn't waver as she answered slowly. "It's not real, Ienzo. That's why it's in so many stories. Just like fairytales, it's an illusion that people wish were real. _

"_But that's ridiculous, of course. Simply hoping for existence is one thing; convincing one's self it _is_ real is another._

"_Love – supposedly – is when all you can think about is that ONE person, where you'd do absolutely anything for them; even give your life. But where, Ienzo, can you find that in this world? No, people may say they love you, but it's not true. In the end, all they ultimately care about is themselves. It goes against human nature to be any differently._

"_Respect, Ienzo, respect: from those above you, especially. Respect is what you should strive for, not love. Love only gets you killed; respect gets you power, and power gets you a better life."_

"_But Mom," Ienzo insisted, "Ms. Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather say they love me. Does that mean they were lying?" _

_Annoyed at his persistency, she rose from her chair and looked sternly down at him. "Yes, Ienzo. They were lying. Not everyone appreciates being harassed and asked questions. So, they were lying to make you shut up. I don't blame them."_

_Ienzo took a step back instinctively from his now very irritated mother. They'd broken eye-contact now; all he could do was stand and watch as she slowly gained steam, then simply gave up and continued her work. _

_He was used to this: it happened every time he talked to her. _

"_And here I was, trying to tell you the _truth_ about it, and you won't leave me alone. I suppose that's what I get for having a kid in the first place…Why can't you understand: I'm trying to _help _you, Ienzo! I'm trying to _help_ you!_

"_And _I'm_ helping you more than this world ever could._

"_Remember that…"_

Ienzo suddenly straightened and he his eyes drifted towards the door.

"Hey, 'Zoey! Guess what I have?" a cheerful voice called from somewhere nearby. He knew who it was before they even walked through the door.

"Hello, Myde. Have you met my mother?"

Myde stopped abruptly, incredulity clearly written on his face, and he said the first intelligent thing that came to mind: "Huh?"

"My mother, Myde," Ienzo said with a bit more precision and force, eyebrow raised and eyes glinting, hoping he would catch the hint.

It took a moment, but comprehension slowly dawned on Myde's wide-eyed features. He shifted the large teddy bear he was carrying to the other arm. "Ohhh…It's a pleasure to meet you."

She looked slightly taken aback at the tanned hand that was being offered to her. Hesitantly, she grasped it and shook lightly.

"Right…I would say the same for you."

"This is Myde," Ienzo stated simply to his mother, looking her in the eye and gesturing towards Myde's smiling – if slightly awkward – figure.

Her cell phone vibrated noisily, and she removed it from her designer purse with practiced ease. "Speaking…Correct…Right. Yes, I understand…No; it was nothing important…yes, of course. I'll be on my way."

She flicked her hair and hung up. Turning back to them, she said with brisk authority, "So, listen. I would stay longer, but it seems I have something at work that needs to be attended to."

With a final note, she swept out of the room, two pairs of irritated eyes following her every move and leaving the atmosphere in a slight state of relief.

_Remember that, Ienzo; I'm helping you more than the world ever could._

If that statement were true, Ienzo thought dully, than the world truly was a very unaccommodating place. 

-6-9-6-

"According to you, then, this all started about two months ago. Would you please specify the details?"

"I was in my study when I heard something say my name off to my right. Startled, I jumped up to turn and face the speaker – who I thought, by the way, was a burglar. I was met, however, with an astonishing sight; a three foot tall mouse was staring back at me and I-"

Leon leaned back in his chair and rubbed his temples to keep from smashing his fist through the one-way mirror. They'd gone over this ten times already, and all they'd establish so far was that the mouse's name was King Mickey, (yes, it was a _king,_ apparently), and he was 'rather adorable'.

Yeah, Leon hadn't really known what to say about that part.

The worst part was that Yen Sid _never_ got tired of telling the same story over and over again. It was almost as if it were written on paper, the way he told it with basically the _same_ words every single time.

And Leon had thought uncooperative prisoners were annoying; at least with them, you knew what you were dealing with.

"-so I said to him, 'Yes, I believe you now,' and then he nodded his round head and smiled at me. Then he gave me instructions and-"

_-and explained to me the whole story and about how I may face opposition but I should persevere, because it was vitally important,_ Leon thought along with Yen Sid's words, having already memorized this part after nearly an hour of interrogation.

Honestly, this was getting ridiculous.

"Yes, I understand that part now, Mr. Sid. Can you tell us about these 'other worlds' you mentioned?"

"Ah, yes, of course. So…"

Leon sighed, preparing himself for another long-winded, harebrained explanation. By now, of course, his perspective on reality had shifted, but not enough to allow the existence of 'moogles', or whatever they're called.

"Yuffie," Leon said into the intercom a quarter hour later, "can you take over now?"

"Sure! Sitting at the front desk is boring, anyway!"

While he felt ashamed for handing his job to someone else, Leon couldn't help but feel relieved as the perky brunette herself skipped into the room.

Hiding his gratitude, he walked into the front office.

Perhaps now he could finally get a moment of peace.

Besides, Yen Sid loves to talk even more than Yuffie; they'd probably keep each other entertained for hours.

Well, at least, he hoped they would.

-PD-PD-PD-

"What?"

"…"

"What is it?"

"…"

"C'mon, just say it."

"…"

"What, you don't think I can take it?"

"…"

"Okay, now I'm worried."

"N-No, it's not like that…"

"Okay…?"

"Uhh…"

"Who is this?"

"Myde."

"Well, that explains a lot…Heh, finally decided to call?"

"Uhmmm…"

"I'm kidding. What, you think I'm going all chick on you? Nah…So, what is it, really?"

"Leon said you need to come to the station."

"Who the hell is Leon?"

"A police officer."

"…"

"…"

"Oh…that's never a good sign."

The phone was still held to his ear as he heard the person on the other end hang up abruptly. It was a second before his arm even unfurled from its tense position next to his ear, and a full minute before his clenched hand released the phone.

That was…strange.

Lea had reacted just as he suspected though: with complete and total indifference.

It was perfect.

He'd known from the start that Lea would never go to the police station, even if he _was_ summoned there. It just wasn't in the idiot's psychology to actually _confront_ his issues – plentiful as they may be – unless he was absolutely _forced_ to do so.

In most situations, this was something he hated about the redhead. Now, however, he was quite pleased.

People like Lea were usually unpredictable, as impulsive and somewhat idiotic as they are. They change their minds as fast as they react: really, really quickly. They hardly ever thought about consequences…

Yes, he knew that type. He knew enough to predict the unpredictable.

For the second time that day, he felt a rush of pride. It was about time Lea got his own medicine shoved in his mouth.

"I can't believe you just did that!"

That was when he remembered the other person in the room.

"T-That was…" Myde sputtered incredulously.

"Cruel? Perhaps. But it was necessary."

"Necessary?! He's gonna die!" Myde exploded.

Ienzo stared at him coldly. "No he won't. He'll be perfectly fine."

"Fine? _Fine?!_ You just sent him to the _Police Station;_ the most Heartless infested place in the whole town!" Myde's eyes were still wide in shock as he bore down on Ienzo.

"He won't go there."

"He won't go there? Are you kidding? Of course he will!"

"Myde," Ienzo said calmly, his face staring straight ahead, "throughout all these years you've known Lea, has he ever really taken responsibility for a mistake?"

"…"

"Exactly. So, even though we all – including Lea – know he's done nothing wrong to entitle a trip to the Police Station, the mere thought of going there – to accept defeat – is absolutely intolerable for Lea. There's no way he'll go there."

"…But then, what was the point?"

"He'll leave his house."

"But I thought you said-!"

"I said," Ienzo said in his usual deadpan tone, "that he wouldn't go to the Police Station. I didn't say he wouldn't leave the house."

"Where will he go, then?"

Ienzo paused for a second. "I'm not entirely sure."

"But then-"

"Myde," Ienzo said sharply, "do you not trust me at all? While it's true I'm not particularly fond of Lea, I'm not going to get him killed. Relax or you'll give yourself a heart attack."

Myde huffed and sat down in his chair, his pride obviously wounded. Probably mourning the loss of all that energy he used to argue, too.

"The point," Ienzo resumed, "was to get him away from his house. Thanks to that call, he'll stay as far away from the station as possible _and_ he'll give his house a wide berth in case the police are looking for him. With that in mind, he'll stay as far away from the Heartless as possible.

"Heartless follow scent trails. They'll know where Lea lives. However, if he randomly goes around like he usually does, they won't know where he went to from his house."

"Why are they going for _him_ all the sudden?"

Ienzo paused for a moment. "They're getting confused, I think. They expected to kill me, but when I got away, it ruined their pattern. They're not sure who to go for right now. And since they don't actually have a thinking brain – they act solely on instinct – they'll go for anyone on the list that's close by. Ais is probably in danger too, now that I think about it…"

The room was silent for a moment as they contemplated.

"But how…?" Myde started. "How did you get your voice to change like that? It sounded exactly like what mine sounds like…well, when I hear myself through a recording, I guess, since you hear yourself different than everyone else. But you get it…"

"I'm not sure," Ienzo confessed softly. "It was probably…_him_ who actually helped me. Or maybe it was the part of me that's connected to him. I don't know…"

"You mean…Zexion?" Myde said in a hushed whisper, his eyes bright with sudden concern.

Myde had wormed the existence of Zexion out of Ienzo eventually, and had been utterly shocked at the knowledge. Understandable, really: he hadn't been so surprised at Ienzo's confession to being OCD, but schizophrenic? It had taken awhile, but Ienzo had finally cleared things up with him about whom Zexion was, and even about…Demyx.

Ah…_Demyx_…

"_Hey, you guys are looking lively!"_

Myde's eyes began loosing focus.

"_How'd a wimp like you get into Organization XIII?"_

Myde slumped down in his chair dazedly.

…_wimp?_

"…_You shouldn't judge anyone by appearance."_

Damn, why did his head hurt so much?

"_Oh, I told them they were sending the wrong guy…"_

If only that voice would just be quiet, he'd be able to think better.

"_Remember, the Organization's made up of Nobodies."_

"_Right – no hearts!"_

No…hearts?

"_Oh, we do too have hearts! Don't be mad…"_

Well, that's a relief…honestly, no hearts? That's just plain-

…_Rude!_

"_Silence, traitor!"_

Hm. That voice sounds…familiar.

"_Wh-?!"_

Where had he…?

"_NOOOO! NO WAAY!"_

…_can't be happening! I wanted to-!_

Wait, what was happening?

_-do so much more!_

Myde clutched his head.

_Had he known? Is that why he had been sent here? To be put out of the way? But Axel had said he'd come back and fill him in! How could Axel do that when he himself was dead? Maybe he never should have trusted him…maybe Luxord had been right to warn him that The Superior was tired of putting up with his clumsy mistakes…but he had _tried,_ hadn't he? He'd always tried to do his best for the Organization. Even if they always told him that he didn't have a heart…_

Myde's right hand clutched his chest unconsciously.

_Oh…well, apparently they'd been right, hadn't they? He was…fading away. He wondered what he looked like. He'd never seen a Nobody fade before; only Heartless. Did it look like that? Yes, he surmised, it must. After all, they were all born of the darkness. Probably without the glistening pink heart soaring upwards to join Kingdom Hearts, though; he didn't have a heart, after all…_

_So his friendship with…that had been a lie, too? It _had_ seemed one-sided to Demyx; all he did was follow his superior by three numbers around and talk to him. When they'd first met, he'd seemed quiet to Demyx. After awhile, though, he'd discovered that Zexion wasn't quiet at all; he just wanted to be left alone… _

_Zexion had been right, then. So there _was_ no hope…_

Myde felt a single tear slide down his face. How could Sora have…?

"Myde…?"

He looked up abruptly, heart racing, having momentarily forgotten that Ienzo was in the room, too.

"Can you feel him?"

Myde lowered his head slowly again, resting it in his hands.

"What's he saying to you?"

"I-I don't know. I just…memories," Myde choked, struggling to keep the onslaught of sudden tears at bay.

"Try and talk to him…it might make you feel better."

"But…he's gone."

"No he's not…that's just the last thing he remembers, what you're seeing now; he's there."

Myde closed his eyes, concentrating deeply.

…_Demyx?_

No response.

"He's not there, Ienzo." There was a note of panic in Myde's voice.

It didn't go unnoticed by Ienzo.

"Calm down, Myde. Try talking out loud."

Myde sighed. "Demyx? Are you there?"

No response.

"He's not-!"

"Just wait. He'll answer you."

Myde sighed and closed his eyes again, tense with waiting for the response that would probably never come.

"_Where am I?"_

Myde jolted in his chair. He'd heard it, he swore he had! He focused on the voice and answered.

"Try and remember."

It was silent again, but now Myde was certain Demyx was their and searching his mind. He waited anxiously for him to speak.

"_Oh…"_

"What's your name?"

There was a pause. _"Don't you already know?"_

"Yeah, but I thought it was more polite to ask you."

Myde could feel Demyx smiling in his lips. _"I'm Demyx. Who are you?"_

"I'm Myde."

-9-6-_9_-

Ais was very upset.

And seeing as Ais was quite an intelligent and rational human being, it would be safe to say that the situation he was currently in must be quite the dilemma.

"Hello, Mr. Old Man, could you help me find my balloon? It's stuck in a-"

One sharp glance was all it took for Ais to send the obnoxious child off in a desperate flee.

_I'm not old_, Ais thought vehemently to himself. _I'm only twenty-five. Since when is that old? _

"Since you started talking to yourself."

Ais' sharp ears caught the noise before the voice could even finish the sentence. His head jerked to face the offender, his eyes sliding over the figure sitting lazily on the bench.

_Age: probably around eighteen. Height: approximately six foot one. Overall: insufferable, prideful, sneaky bastard._

All in all…not worth his time. He gave it a final stare before going on his way.

"Bit testy, aren't you?"

It was that _child_ again. Damn how he hated children.

"I'm not a child. I'm eighteen. See, where we live, that means I'm legally an adult."

Ais stopped and stared at the daring red-head. Despite all these deathly looks he was receiving from the master of all deathly looks, he was still sprawled fluidly across the rickety park-bench. His smooth skinned face held an impish smirk, accentuated by the black, upside-down triangle tattoos under both his sharp green eyes.

"That's nice," Ais responded vaguely after another brief calculation that this strange hobo was not worth his time. He continued his walk again.

"Did you know that you talk to yourself?"

Ais stopped again. This was honestly getting ridiculous…

"What? What is it now?" Ais asked in his usual calm voice with only a hint of venom. His left eye twitched as he turned to face-

…a little girl. She stood there, terrified. Once she found her voice, she shrieked, "M-Mommy!" through her dry sobs.

Ais sighed as he turned to head on his way again. Annoying little brat; all he'd done was _look_ at her and now-

"My, what a charmer you are," a stupidly familiar voice said from out of nowhere.

Ais flinched slightly but let loose no other sign that he had been taken by surprise. "Are you mocking me?"

"Me? Nah, just stating the facts. That's the second kid in two minutes that you've traumatized for life."

"That's a bit of an over-statement," Ais said through clenched teeth. Why was it so hard to keep his composure around this idiot? Hell, he was surrounded by idiots…

"So, I don't think we've been properly introduced."

Ais didn't bother to ask this random not-as-stranger-as-before-but-still-a-stranger why he was suddenly introducing himself to a man who he'd just seen 'traumatize two kids for life'; he'd already deduced that his strange adolescent was crazy.

"I'm Lea."

"Okay," Ais said with as much indifference he cold muster while still keeping his cool.

"You don't talk much, do you?"

It was at this point that he truly felt like throttling Lea.

"Well, I'll have you know that I _do_ in fact have a reason for talking to you."

"Oh, really?" Ais asked, not really caring about the answer. Only a few more blocks until home; then he could slam the door in this completely intolerable teenager's surprised, tattooed- up, face.

"I know who you really are, Ais. I know you're in there," Lea whispered in a hushed, knowing tone. "I've seen you before. You're Saix, aren't you? But," Lea laughed at this point, "you probably have no idea what I'm talking about!

"The point is, if you're really who I think you are -who Axel thinks you are - then you'd better be watching your back. I may not owe you…even _before_ I warned you. Believe me, you are the _last_ person I'd like to talk to. But…I guess, at this point, we have to forget who we used to be. Everyone deserves a second change, I guess."

And it was at this point that Ais knew, without an ounce of doubt, that Lea was undeniably and incurably insane.

-8-7-8-

**End Notes: AND DONE! **

**Take that, writer's block!**

**Okay…I'm sorry for any grammar/whatever mistakes. Bottom line? I don't carrrrre. Was it readable? That's my goal, folks.**

**So…Wow, yeah, I'm really clumsy. **

**Hope you liked it. I'm not really happy with this chapter but I'm sick of waiting for inspiration, and I figured you guys deserved an update.**

**And: I don't own. Forgot to put that at the beginning. Oops. **

_**Review? Please? Do I really need to tell you why?**_

_**(a very apologetic and tired) b9iNe**_


	15. Chapter XV

Zexion sighed as he slid his finger delicately behind the next page of the paperback book

Zexion sighed as he slid his finger delicately behind the next page of the paperback book. His analysis of all the classic novels was not going well, at best. So far he'd gone through _A Tale of Two Cities_, (that had been painfully dull, even by his standards), _Wuthering Heights_, (mildly intriguing), and _To Kill a Mockingbird_, (probably the best so far). He had just started _The Scarlet Letter_ and was already disappointed. Contrary to what the back of the book said, ("An excellent display of human emotions at there best and worst!"), all it had turned out to be was a long-winded description of the environment in question, (the author had obviously made an effort to make it sound poetic in reminisce of other great authors of his time, but it rang as merely words in Zexion's ear), and then about two lines of dialogue. All much too over-the-top for him, honestly.

He sighed again and placed the offending book in question on the mahogany table next to his chair, looking around his bland living area with disinterest. Maybe he would go get a cup of tea; that might keep him awake, because God knows the book wasn't.

But before he could even fully finish that thought it was interrupted by an all-too-familiar noise.

"GAAAAH!"

_Bang, bang bang!_

"Zexy-let-me-in! Let-me-in-let-me-in-let-me-IN! Please! LETMEINLETMEINSHE'S GONNA KILLMEANDIDON'TWANNADIIIIIE! PLEASE!"

Pausing for a brief moment in front of the white double doors that led to the long leading hallway, Zexion briefly contemplated leaving the blonde sitarist to his fate.

"ZEXION!"

As Demyx's whimper rang throughout the castle, Zexion disregarded that last thought and opened the door.

A mass of black and dirty blonde threw itself at him the moment it could squeeze its narrow body through.

"Zexion…Thank you so much! I thought I was gonna DIE!"

"Did you now?" Zexion said stiffly as he attempted to pry the taller man off him. "I hadn't noticed."

When Demyx realized that Zexion's small hands were trying to wrench him off, he released the shorter one from his grateful bear-hug with regret. "Oh…Sorry."

"Right," Zexion said, brushing off his own shoulder and taking a step away from the overzealous man. Why was it that everyone always treated him like a teddy bear, always leaning their arms on him, attempting to squeeze his cheek, or trying to hug him? His body was _nineteen_, for God's sake! No matter how short he happened to be, he was _not_ something to hug! "So, Number Nine, may I inquire about what you did _this_ time?"

At that, Demyx's light bronze cheeks blushed slightly. "Ehh...heh…Uhm…about that…Well, you see…Axel was being mean and teasing me about…well," (he blushed even redder this time), "something. So I decided to get back at him. So when he was coming out of the bathroom, I took a bucket of water and poured it all over him. Then he got mad. So…one thing led to another, and I don't know how it happened, but Saix ended up finding the mess, and you know how much Saix scares me. He told me to clean up the mess while he went and dealt with Axel, (whatever _that_ means). So I looked in the bathroom and we didn't have any towels or _anything_ in there that could be used to clean up the water! So I kept looking, and behind all the soap and stuff, I found a pack of…well…" (His cheeks turned even redder and he started to stutter in his haste to explain), "well, they were Larxene's apparently, but I didn't_ know_ that and there was nothing else to use! And they were REALLY absorbent. And how was I supposed to know that girl Nobodies still PMS?!"

The room was silent for a moment as Zexion comprehended Demyx's words. When he did, his reaction was surprising, to say the least.

It took a full thirty seconds before Demyx realized that Zexion was laughing. When he did, though, he couldn't help but join him.

Ienzo lurched in his sleep, the fading images of a life so much drearier than his still fuzzy on the edges of his vision. He brought his hand to his forehead, feeling lightheaded.

"Zexion?" he murmured, closing his eyes to the semi-darkness of his hospital room. He could feel him in the flanks of his mind, still, and he could tell that something was wrong.

After awhile of waiting and still not receiving an answer, Ienzo sighed and slowly relaxed onto his bed. Zexion was clearly distressed, but he obviously wanted to be alone right now. Ienzo would give it to him.

He then smiled bitterly at the thought of 'leaving a person in his head alone'. How strange his life had become.

And even stranger that he was already so well-adjusted to it. It was even spooky; one might call it, the gracefulness in which Ienzo had accepted the facts. Or perhaps that had been Zexion, too, playing with his mind even in those early stages.

_Well, whether or not he's messing with my mind_, Ienzo thought dully, _it's not like I can actually blame him. I would have done the same thing. And all he's done so far is help me._

And with those thoughts, Ienzo drifted off to sleep, not even realizing the faint trail of a single salty tear sliding slowly across his, (or was it Zexion's?), cheek.

Lea spent the night in a hotel. It's not like it's anything he hadn't done before. Besides, it's not like Reno actually _cared_. He was always out on a job or drinking with the guys or doing…other things. Not like Lea was bitter. He'd be doing the same thing in Reno's position. Besides, it's not like Lea couldn't look after himself.

He skipped school the next day, too, (again, nothing he hadn't done before). What? He was a senior. He hardly had any classes as it was. Besides, he'd already learned everything he needed to from school in the fourth grade.

Reading. Writing. Basic Algebra and Geometry. What else was there? Nothing, that's what. They just prolonged children's school lives because they wanted to keep them out of trouble.

And it's not like Lea ever got in trouble, anyway. So, basically, finishing high school was already giving more than he needed to.

What…? Oh, well, yeah, his sixth grade teacher hadn't really bought that one, either.

Well, either way, Lea was free for the day. He strode through the park leisurely, enjoying the feeling of power he got when he didn't follow rules every once in awhile. …Okay, so he did that a lot, but that doesn't mean he didn't appreciate every power-rush he got.

It was at that moment that he located his bench.

Sighing with pleasure, he sprawled across its rickety iron frame. "How I've missed you!" he crowed dramatically, rolling over to his stomach and hugging the armrest his head was now resting on.

…Hey, don't look at him like that. He's lonely and bored, okay? His friends are all somewhere doing who knows what because of whatever and he didn't really care. The only thing that bothered him about them being busy was because they obviously knew more than he did and were unwilling to share their information. Myde was right to call and warn him, Lea agreed, but why wouldn't he explain? He'd, (after swallowing his pride and flushing it down the toilet), tried calling him zillions of times already and had gotten nothing but the recording. And to top all THAT off, everyone else was in school, so there wasn't even anyone to prank call or something as mildly amusing as that.

Lea sighed, his good mood already down the drain.

"_Oh, lighten up, loser."_

Oh. Right. He'd almost forgotten about it. He DID have another person to talk to, after all.

"Leave me alone, Axel," Lea grumbled into his arms. "I'm having an epic teenage angst moment. You're ruining the mood."

"_Will you quit being such a girl and pay attention?"_

Lea glared. Not at Axel, of course, because that would be somewhat of a form of self-hate and Lea was NOT one to fall so far. "I prefer talking to my bench," he said snootily, then hung his head and shut his eyes. "Now leave me alone."

"…_Don't say I didn't warn you."_

Lea sat up and looked around. "What? I don't see anything!"

"_He's over there."_

Instinctively, Lea looked down the path. There, a figure was walking towards him with apparent ease.

The man was older than him, that much he was sure. Probably in his late twenties. His hair was blonde and cut in shaggy layers on his head. He had a small patch of well-groomed facial hair growing under his chin. As he got closer, Lea realized that he had two earrings in each ear and a small stud on his eyebrow. Obviously not your typical business man, though he was wearing a suit and carrying a briefcase.

"Hello," Lea said brightly from his seat. The man looked up and stared at him. Suddenly, he smiled.

"Hello, sir, it's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance. My name is Durlo-"

"Lea," Lea offered, holding out his hand. Durlo shook it after a brief pause. "Sit down, will you?"

Durlo obliged gratefully. "Ah…that feels better. My feet are killing me. Damn these standardized formal shoes! How I long for my normal trainers right now!"

Lea laughed. "I know what you mean."

Durlo looked at him after a pause. "So…May I inquire as to why you called me over? I don't believe I know you…Or do I?"

"Nah…I just needed to tell you something. It's kinda important. And, unfortunately it's my…err, job, I guess you could call it."

"Well," Durlo said, "if that's the case, why don't we exchange advice? I'll go first."

"Hm…Alright. Seems like a fair deal."

"Splendid! My advice to you, young Lea: go to college. It may seem like a waste of time, but it pays, in the end. Believe me, I would know."

It took a moment for Lea to register that Durlo was serious. He blinked, at loss of words.

"Now," Durlo said slyly, obviously aware that he'd caught the teenager off guard, "I believe you owe me a piece of advice?"

"Oh…right," Lea said hesitantly. "Well, it's like this…Luxord, buddy, avoid places that are secluded, especially at night and if they're covered in shadows. And especially if those shadows have eyes…"

Perhaps Lea's life wasn't so unfulfilling after all.

The next day, Ienzo was officially released from the hospital.

Myde was the one who enthusiastically pushed the wheelchair to the front entrance.

"Aw…cheer up, 'Zoey. Aren't you excited? You finally get to go home!" Myde said as he narrowly avoided smashing into a brown haired lady pushing a cleaning cart.

Ienzo grip on the armrest tightened as Myde continued to wheel him towards the doors. 

While Myde somewhat disappointedly halted as they reached his mom's car, Ienzo stood up gratefully.

"I'll go return this, okay? Here are the keys to unlock the car," Myde said as he tossed him the keys. Ienzo caught them easily and turned to unlock the passenger side door. "I'll be right back."

Ienzo watched Myde's tall, long-limbed form scurry off back towards the hospital, pushing the blue wheelchair in front of him.

It seemed only a minute later that Myde was back. Ienzo handed over the keys wordlessly.

Myde paused before he inserted the keys into the ignition. A strange look crossed over his boyish features. "Do you wanna drive?"

The question took Ienzo off guard. Myde had never let anyone drive his rusty old car before. Despite its bad shape, it was one of Myde's pride and joys. By the way he handled it, one might have thought that he was behind the wheel of a Ferrari.

So when Myde had asked that in an attempt to make his friend feel better…Ienzo had simply stared at him for a moment before saying politely, "No, that's alright. But thank you, anyway."

And Myde had smiled softly and started up the feeble, sputtering engine.

The car ride to Ienzo's house was anything but silent, but he found himself not really listening to Myde's enthusiastic words. He was still contemplating silently.

If Ienzo had said 'yes' and somehow hurt the car, he knew that Myde would have been sad, but forgiving. Myde was like that.

He could have said yes. But why didn't he? It wasn't a long drive, and he could have used the experience…

But still he found himself thinking that if Myde asked again, Ienzo would still decline. As over-thought as his conclusion may seem, he'd already decided a long time ago that he wouldn't risk his friendship with Myde for the world.

The car lurched to a stop in front of Ienzo's front gate and he was brought from his stupor. He released the seatbelt hesitantly, as though he were expecting something. The cab had gone quiet. Myde was staring at him, a peculiar smile on his face.

"I'll see you later."

"Yeah…Goodbye."

And with that Ienzo stepped from the car and made his way to his front doorsteps.

It was ironic, really, Ienzo thought, that, not far from here had been the very place that he'd first met Myde.

And now they were saying goodbye, if only temporarily.

Back then, there were no Heartless or Nobodies or other worlds or Organization XIII. Back then, Ienzo would freeze up with the thought of sitting in a dirty seat, would flinch at the touch of another person. Back then, he would worry that his room wasn't perfect – just like the day before – and would rush home to make sure the lampshades were perfectly straight and his bed was made without a wrinkle.

_1…2…3…4…5…6._

Back then, Ienzo hated the number six. It was the number he could never count past. It was the number he confined – labeled - himself to in his head.

Now it's the number he is on a list of prophesized murder victims.

_1…2…3…4…5…….6._

But now…NOW... Now he stopped worrying and fretting and being scared of things that hadn't earned their label…NOW he started enjoying things.

Because now…they were friends. Myde had helped Ienzo in more ways than he could ever know. He'd made him grow up. He'd taught him to speak up. He'd made him experience things he never would have experienced before.

_1. . 6…_

So even though, in some ways, NOW was worse than THEN, it truly wasn't. Because even though now includes Heartless and Nobodies and other worlds and Organization XIII...Does all that really matter? And while it's true that the Heartless are still there…so what? Sora, Riku, and Kairi were a determined group: they would eradicate them if it was the last thing they did. It wasn't Ienzo's job to get to the bottom of it all: HE wasn't the hero of this story, was he? He'd done enough already, even he could realize that.

_1…2…3…4…5…_

No, all that mattered was the moment. THIS moment. That was another thing Myde taught him: how to really _live._

_6…7…8…9._

Ienzo smiled and waved to the car as it drove off. And, he knew, Myde waved back.

_The End…For now. _

**Author's notes: … Yes, there will be an eventual sequel. EVENTUAL being the key word there. **

**I'd like to thank all the people who reviewed this story. You kept me going. I'm really sorry this took so long to get out, but I was having serious distractions. Like, y'know, life. Not that I really have one, but, you know…**

…

**So…hope you aren't going to kill me. It had to end somewhere. I'm sorry if you hate me for it. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own it.**

**I'm tired. Are you? –yawn- why is it that I always end up doing most of my writing at one in the morning? –shrugs- sorry for any mistakes. **

**Btw: if Durlo looked different than Luxord, it's because Nobodies and their others don't look the exact same. Look at Sora and Roxas for example. **

_**Review please! Sequels are review powered vehicles!**_

_**b9 iNe is signing out**_


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